AUGUSTA — Gone but not really gone.
Fayette-Staples of Saco saw its hopes for a Maine State American Legion title vanish, Thursday, after losing 8-3 to Brewer, in an elimination bracket game played at the CARA Complex.
Despite being ousted from States, Fayette-Staples will continue playing as the host post for next week’s eight-team Northeast Regional tournament to be staged at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach.
“We had fun,” said Matt Turnage, whose seventh-inning home run capped Fayette-Staples’ scoring. “One thing that we wanted to do was have fun (and) hit the ball. Today, we actually hit the ball, but it was just at them. We really couldn’t do anything about that. We needed more.”
Matters started off promisingly enough, after Jack Kenney opened the scoring by swatting out a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning.
Turnage had singled, which was the first hit allowed by Brewer hurler Pat McEwan.
Kenney followed and slammed a first pitch fastball deep into a tree stand beyond the right-field fence.
Unfortunately the lead wasn’t savored for long.
The Falcons promptly knotted the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of an outfielder error, a hit batter and a walk.
“That was a big let down, there,” said Fayette-Staples manager Ray Petit. “But that comes with being mentally tough. You’ve got to respond. If you do something good and they do something good, you’ve got to come back and do something good. We didn’t do that.”
Matters worsened for Fayette-Staples in the bottom of the fifth, when more miscues led to two more Brewer runs.
Brewer tacked on three more tallies in the sixth to up the margin to 7-2.
Turnage got one run back in the top of the seventh with a solo shot to right center.
“The kid was throwing fastball all the time,” said Turnage. “He threw me a couple of curveballs that I couldn’t hit, then he threw a fastball that was right down the middle. I knew that I needed to hit it.”
That proved to be Fayette-Staples’ final hurrah, at least until the upcoming Regionals.
“We realize that our defense is not so clean,” said Turnage. “We’re going to be working on that so that we can be ready.”
Fayette-Staples will open the Regional tourney Aug. 4, when they’ll face the yet to be determined Vermont state champion.
In another elimination game, Ramsdell-Rogers (Wells/York) was sent home following a 9-2 loss to Bessey Motors.
“We had a nice run,” said catcher/designated hitter Louis DiTomasso. “It was definitely a blast to play with these kids. It was a fun time just to come up here and play baseball.”
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less