Biddeford was looking for a better start in its second game of the New England Regional 11-12 year old Little League baseball tournament, knowing that it would be heading home with a second defeat. That better start didn’t come, as instead Waterford, Connecticut jumped out to a big lead.

The Connecticut state champion put eight runners on before the first out of the game and scored 11 runs in the top of the first. Biddeford did its part to try and answer, but couldn’t avoid succumbing to the 10-run rule, as Waterford finished off the Maine state champion with a 15-5 victory at Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut Thursday.

Thanks to a washed out slate Tuesday, Biddeford had two full days off since its previous game, meaning ace Matt Rousselle was able to take the mound at the start again. He was rudely greeted, however, by Waterford’s bats, which collected hits from the first three batters to score the game’s first run.

Rousselle walked cleanup hitter Ryan O’Connell – and in the process allowed another run to come in on a wild pitch – and hit Trey Brennan to load the bases before he was pulled without recording an out.

Kurtis Edgerton came on in relief and was welcomed by a bases-clearing triple by Robert Zawacki to make it 5-0. After an RBI single and a walk, Edgerton finally got the first out of the game on a fielder’s choice, but two singles, a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly plated five more runs before Zawacki flied out to end the frame.

Biddeford responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the first, as Rousselle and Edgerton led off with consecutive singles. Two batters later, Scott Kelly walked to load the bases and Ashton Crowell grounded into a fielder’s choice on a 3-2 pitch to drive in pinch runner Alec Descoteaux.

Waterford continued its hot offensive start by putting the first five batters on in the second, including a bases-loaded single and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, followed by a run-scoring fielder’s choice – all against Brady Wildes, Biddeford’s third pitcher of the game.

Biddeford answered with two in the bottom half, as it tried to keep pace. Alex McAlevey led off with a single and advanced on a wild pitch, then scored two batters later on Will Harriman’s RBI single. Harriman advanced to second on a throw to home, then came in on a single by Rousselle.

“What we told the kids is the same thing we have told them all season, and that’s good, bad or ugly keep competing. And that’s what they did. We told them not to try to do too much and just focus on one quality at bat at a time,” said Biddeford assistant coach Marcus Crowell.

Wildes delivered a 1-2-3 top of the third, getting all three outs on groundouts, including two back to the mound. But Waterford countered with its own clean frame, as O’Connell – who relieved starter Connor Podeszwa – struck out a pair and fielded a comebacker.

A two-out inside-the-park home run by Jared Burrows in the top of the fourth pushed Waterford’s lead to 15-3, which proved to be a big run as the Connecticut champion looked to end the game early.

O’Connell got two quick outs before being lifted for Luke Sokolski. That brought Rousselle back to the plate, and he upped his output to 3-for-3 with a single. Edgerton followed with another single, and Rousselle made it to third on a close play at the hot corner.

Tommy Gonneville Jr. then singled to bring home Rousselle, and Scott Kelly made it four hits in a row with an RBI single to deep center. Kelly rounded first on the deep hit, but was caught at second on a bang-bang play that ended the game via the 10-run mercy rule.

“There is a spot in center field where there are bushes behind the fence, and to the base runners and Kelly it looked like the ball landed in that spot for a home run. The base runners were running on contact but they slowed up after that,” said Crowelll. “By the time we got them running again only one of the two runs that we needed to extend the game had crossed the plate before Kelly was thrown out trying to advance to second.”

Despite the short stay in Bristol, Crowell said he was proud of the way the players performed, especially when things weren’t going their way.

“We feel that our players showed a lot of character by continuing to grind it out,” said Crowell. “It’s something Biddeford is known for and so are teams that have represented Maine in the past. We were extremely proud of their effort.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.