SANFORD — Sharp pitching and defense lifted the Sanford Mainers to a 3-0 shutout win over the Winnipesaukee Muskrats at Goodall Park Tuesday.

Despite scoring just three runs on six hits, the Sanford pitchers held the Muskrats scoreless to secure the win.

“We were establishing the strike zone early, we were getting ahead which definitely helped us do our jobs,” said pitcher Blaise Whitman. “Ben (Wessel) started and set the tone good, I was able to get out of a few jams. We never let anything spiral out of control and we were able to get out of some tough situations.”

The toughest situation Sanford faced came in the top of the sixth inning. Holding just a 1-0 lead, the Muskrats loaded the bases with no outs.

Whitman collected himself and escaped the jam by retiring the next three batters and allowing no runs to cross the plate.

“My approach when I get into tough situations like that is to take it one pitch at a time,” said Whitman. “I don’t worry about getting outs, I try to get strike one then work from there. I was able to get that done today and a few plays were made that helped.”

Sanford manager Chris Morris was also glad to see his pitcher avoid any damage.

“That was huge – I thought it was the teetering point in the game,” said Morris. “Had (Winnipesaukee) got a hit there, they would have got some momentum, but we got the momentum and held it for the rest of the game. Blaise was phenomenal, the defense made some plays that inning too, but Blaise made a lot of good pitches which was good.”

Wessel, who would go just three innings because the Mainers wanted to limit his pitch count, would strike out three and allow just three hits and no runs. Whitman went the next four innings, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out three. Thomas Fortier and Dalton Curtis would close out the game on the mound for Sanford.

While the Mainers’ pitching staff deserves a lot of credit for Tuesday’s win, Morris also credited catcher Tristan Chari for his performance behind the plate.

“I think Tristan called a great game tonight. He did a great job behind the dish. We have a good group of kids that come in and just compete. When you attack the plate and let the defense make plays, good things are going to happen,” said Morris.

Sanford took a 1-0 lead on an RBI by Jordan Powell in the third inning. Powell would later knock in Michael Landestoy on an RBI double in the sixth – and he added another RBI in the eighth to score Sanford’s three runs.

Although Tuesday’s win was low-scoring, Morris was happy with his team’s overall effort.

“We just want to play good baseball – whether that’s hitting, fielding, pitching or all three phases,” said Morris. “We didn’t get the runs we needed but when you combine that with good pitching and good defense, that’s what you need to do to win and that’s what we did.”

With the win, the Mainers hang on to sole possession of first place in the NECBL Northern Division. Whitman hopes the Mainers stay hot heading down the stretch.

“It felt really good … this is a good group of guys and we’re starting to catch our stride. It’s a good time to get hot with the playoffs approaching,” said Whitman.

Morris also felt that Tuesday’s close contest would serve his squad well with the playoffs nearing.

“It puts our pitchers in pressure situations and puts the team in pressure situations,” said Morris. “Where we want to play down the stretch, we’re going to be in a lot of those. So this gives us a lot of confidence heading down the stretch.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @ JournalTsports.