The Kennebunk 10 to 12-year-old Little League Baseball All-Star Team sprints onto the field to celebrate keeping their season alive with a win over Wells on Tuesday. (
SAM BONSEY/Journal Tribune)

SANFORD — Mental toughness in the face of adversity has been a theme of the Kennebunk Little League Baseball team all season and preparation for the moment paid off when it mattered the most. 

Max Andrews hit an RBI triple in the top of the sixth inning and then escaped a bases loaded jam on the mound in the bottom of the frame to preserve a 2-1 win over Wells at Rogers Field in Sanford in an elimination game of the 2019 Maine District 4 Little Baseball Tournament for 10 to 12-year-olds. 

“These kids kept themselves calm,” said Kennebunk coach Zeb Andrews. “They were a lot calmer than I was … There’s such a trust with all of these guys. They didn’t want to lose, so they did everything they could to keep the season going.”

Kennebunk advances to the semifinal round of the double-elimination tournament where they’ll face the winner of Tuesday night’s Massabesic vs. York game on Saturday afternoon in Biddeford.

With Kennebunk holding a 1-0 lead entering the sixth against Wells, Isaac Jensen doubled to left and was brought home on a Max Andrews triple to extend the lead to a pair. 

But Wells wasn’t giving up on the season just yet. 

With one out, first basemen Gage Sargent drew a walk and then was replaced by pinch runner Cooper Bourque. Dom Carbonneau doubled to put runners at second and third, and Matt Flagg reached on an infield single to load the bases. 

Alex Albright followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Bourque and make it a one-run game. Aydan Collins then stepped up to the plate with a chance to tie the score, but grounded out to second to end the threat and the game.

“That was the absolute best baseball game we’ve played all year,” said Wells coach Alden Pelletier. “We played a complete baseball game … The kids competed all the way to the end, and there’s nothing they should hang their head about.”

Wells got a strong outing from A.J. Pelletier who pitched a complete game in a losing effort. 

“(A.J.’s) a competitor,” said Alden Pelletier of his son. “He’s a bulldog. He mixes pitches well, he kept his composure … And the kids played defense behind him.”

Kennebunk grabbed the lead in the second when Ryan Clark drove in Brady Stone, who led off the inning with an infield single. 

Wells threatened in the fourth after Caleb Moody and Carbonneau reached on singles with one out, but Max Andrews struck out pinch hitter Daniel Blaisdell, then got Nolan Brown to ground softly into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

“(Max) is calming because he’s trusting, he’s efficient, he throws strikes,” Zeb Andrews said. “The guys behind him can make plays, so he’s very confident in throwing strikes.” 

Despite the loss, Alden Pelletier couldn’t have been happier with how his team played. 

“I’m so proud with how they competed tonight. At the end of the day, I want these kids to turn out and give a big smile to their parents,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”