SANFORD — The last time Sanford Mainers starting pitcher Trevor LaBonte took the mound, he couldn’t get out of the first inning in a July 1 matchup with Winnipesaukee. On Tuesday night at Goodall Park in Sanford, the York native took a perfect game into the sixth against the Upper Valley Nighthawks.

Labonte struck out seven across 7 ⅓ scoreless innings, and Sanford pitching combined for a two-hit shutout to help the Mainers defeat the Nighthawks, 4-0, in an NECBL baseball game.

LaBonte’s outing is the longest by a Mainer this season. Upper Valley’s Jack Zyska broke up LaBonte’s perfect game with a single to left with two outs in the sixth. 

“(Tonight) was a lot of fun,” said Labonte. “I was on page with (catcher) Ryan (Turenne) tonight with every pitch. That’s when baseball is really fun, when you’re in a groove like that.”

The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Mainers (9-16), who scored all four of their runs with two outs in the first.

Upper Valley (15-11) looked to be out of a first-inning jam when Nighthawks starter Andrew DeRoche got Connor Tate hit a grounder to third, but David Marcano couldn’t come up with the play and Drew DeMartino, who led off with a walk, scored to make it 1-0.

Two batters later, Eric Stock hit a two-run single, scoring Shane Marshall and Tate, to make the score 3-0. Jack Van Remortel followed with an RBI single to extend Sanford’s lead to 4-0. 

All of DeRoche’s runs were unearned.

That was all LaBonte needed.

The tall right-hander retired the first 17 batters he faced, seven on fly outs, striking out four straight Nighthawks across the fourth and fifth innings.  

“(Trevor) had all his stuff tonight,” said Sanford coach Cejay Suarez. “He didn’t have a great start last time … It’s a gutsy performance to come back seven days later and do what he did.” 

LaBonte started the sixth by getting Marcano and Andrew Cossetti to fly out to keep the perfect game intact, but Zyska followed with a clean single to left on a 1-2 pitch to stop the streak. 

“I was aware of (the no-hitter), but you’re just in at zone at that point,” said Laonte. “(Upper Valley) was hitting balls hard at times, too, but it was just going to our guys … I guess when you get it going, everything seems to work out.”

Even though LaBonte kept Upper Valley out of the scoring column, Sanford wasn’t able to extend its lead as DeRoche found a groove. 

The right-hander allowed only one hit after the first inning, and finished the night with nine strikeouts and two walks in 5 ⅓ innings.

The only trouble LaBonte ran into was in the eighth. 

After allowing up a lead-off single to Anthony Quirion, LaBonte got Brian Moore to ground into a fielder’s choice. He then walked Marcano to put runners on first and second with one out. 

Reliever Matthew Pushard came in for LaBonte and struck out Cossetti. Then, with Zyska at the plate, Quirion was thrown out trying to steal third by Turenne to end Upper Valley’s threat. 

Pushard struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth to secure the Mainers win. 

“(Catching in games like this) is a lot of fun,” said Turenne. “Just knowing what their stuff is and knowing when to throw it makes the game that much more enjoyable.”

UP NEXT: The Mainers host the Vermont Mountaineers (13-12) Wednesday night.