BIDDEFORD — Sometimes it pays to be patient. 

After Bangor West lost to Massabesic 4-3 in its opening game of the Little League Baseball state tournament on Sunday, assistant coach Jason Rossignol pleaded with his team to be a little less aggressive at the plate. 

On Tuesday, Bangor West showcased its discipline in an 11-3 victory over Massabesic in an elimination game at Hill Street Field in Biddeford. 

“We needed to be patient and swing at good pitches,” Rossignol said. “We are a very good hitting team and we did not hit well (in our first game).”

Bangor West advances to play Scarborough in the  9 to 11-year-old championship on Thursday at 4 p.m. Scarborough enters the contest undefeated in the double-elimination format tournament.  

Massabesic took a 3-2 lead over Bangor West in the fifth inning on a Ryan Merrifield two-run single, but its lead vanished in a flash. 

Bangor West sent 13 batters to the plate in the sixth and took the lead on a two-run single from Landon Spellman that scored Zachary Wallace and Will Houghton. Spellman came around to score on a single up the middle from Chase Swartz to extend Bangor West’s lead, and Ethan Sproul delivered another two-run single to make it 7-3.

Then, with the bases loaded, Houghton hit an opposite-field single to right field that cleared the bases and extended the margin to 11-3. Bangor West made Massabesic pitches throw strikes, and, when they were in the zone, they pounced. 

“Our kids were disciplined today,” Rossignol said. “And they fulfilled the signs we gave them. If we (the coaches) get you out, that’s on us … I’m very proud of how they played today.”

Massabesic attempted to rally in the bottom of the sixth as they got the bases loaded with one out on Bangor reliever Swartz, but Devyn Mayo flew out to Wallace in center field, who then threw out Jordan Nash at the plate to end the game.

“Our kids really battled,” said Massabesic coach Matt Soule-Parent. “We told them to keep their heads up … They really learned about adversity and how to handle it.” 

Soule-Parent has coached the Massabesic team for close to five years. Over the past three seasons, Massabesic has progressed from going winless in the district tournament, to finishing third in the district to now a third place run in the state tournament. 

With every player returning next year, Soule-Parent hopes to make a deeper run in 2020 with a team he admits has been one of his most enjoyable during his time as a coach.

“I’m so proud of my team and how much work they’ve put in these past six weeks,” said Soule-Parent. “This was the best group of kids to coach.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct an error that listed Jason Rossignol as the head coach of Bangor West. Rossignol is the assistant coach and Nate Boyce is the head coach. 

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