BIDDEFORD — As the sun set at St. Louis Field in Biddeford Wednesday, the Thornton Academy Trojans knew they were down, but they weren’t out.

With two outs in the top of the seventh and Biddeford holding a one-run lead, Alex Fallon lined a double down the third-base line to tie the game 3-3. The Trojans then scored three runs in the eighth inning to complete the comeback and beat the Tigers 6-3.

The Trojans got the early momentum in a game matching teams neck-and-neck in the heal points, as Jeff Gelinas’ towering home run in the first inning gave Thornton a 2-0 lead. The home run came after the Biddeford shortstop dropped the potential third out on a popup in shallow left field.

“I got a change-up, a little low. It connected well, and yeah, it felt good off the bat. It’s one of those ones you know,” Gelinas said of his home run.

Biddeford starter Bobby Cote shrugged off the blast, however, and quieted the Trojan offense for much of the game. He allowed just two hits over his next five innings until the fateful seventh inning.

“He’s probably the toughest kid in the league. Most kids would have folded after giving that first inning up,” TA coach Ray Petit said. “We hit him pretty good in the second inning. But, hey, he bared down, and he pitched great.

“He’s the type of guy you want on your team.”

The Tigers tied the game up in the fourth on Nate McKeown’s two-run single, as Biddeford strung together four straight base hits. Cote then gave the Tigers the lead in the fifth on an infield single that scored Taylor Reuillard.

Cote seemed to tire in the seventh, which gave the Trojans a second wind. Cam Madden singled to lead off the inning. Drew Lavigne was pinch runner for Madden and moved to second on Josh Coffin’s sacrifice bunt. After Steve Harmon grounded out to second, Fallon hit his game-tying double.

Harmon pitched a perfect seventh inning of relief for TA.

Cote came back in to pitch the eighth inning and promptly gave up consecutive singles to lead off. McKeown then took over and walked Brandon Briggs on four pitches to load the bases. After striking out Nick Kenney on a full count, McKeown gave up the winning runs on an up-the-middle single by Madden. Coffin then followed suit with an RBI single for the final tally.

“Tough loss. They won it in the eighth. If we make a few more defensive plays, the game doesn’t even get to the eighth,” said Biddeford coach Keith Leblanc. “The kids did a nice job battling back from a deficit, just couldn’t finish it at the end there.”

Harmon picked up the win after coming on in relief of Jack Kenney with two outs in the fifth, after Kenney gave up three runs on seven hits.

With the win, Thornton Academy improved to 8-5, while Biddeford fell to 6-7.

The Trojans travel to Kennebunk today, and the Tigers have a road game at Bonny Eagle.

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323.