Costly errors helped Old Town push past Saco in the first contest, but Saco responded Wednesday by playing one of its best defensive games in the tournament, which was the difference according to coach Ryan Chessie.
“Defense, definitely defense,” said Chessie. “We started off with three nice plays – one by Brady Kezal, one by Jeremiah (Chessie) and an amazing catch by Ryan Camire … that really set the tone for us.”
Old Town also limited the Saco offense early on, throwing out a runner at third base in the first inning and a runner at home in the second.
It wasn’t until the third inning that the Saco bats took off, scoring four runs and taking the lead.
Justin Labelle kicked things off with an RBI single, followed by an RBI single from Matt Kimball. Two more runs were scored on passed balls in the inning.
Old Town’s Carson Ellis responded with an RBI single in the fourth to make it 4-1, but Jeremiah Chessie hit a two-run double the next half inning to take the 6-1 lead and secure the win.
Josh Penney got the start for Saco, pitching 2 1/3 innings and allowing no runs on two hits while striking out a batter.
Jeremiah Chessie pitched the rest of the way, allowing just one run on three hits while collecting five strikeouts.
“Had the lead been wider than we would’ve taken Jeremiah out of the game after 35 pitches, but we needed to win this game,” said Ryan Chessie. “Old Town is a great hitting team, and we never would take that for granted by taking him out too early.”
Ryan Chessie was also happy with his team’s aggressiveness at the plate.
“We felt more comfortable at the plate, we were a little tentative the first time but tonight we were a lot more aggressive swinging the bat, and we had a lot of big hits,” said Ryan Chessie. “There probably wasn’t a difference in our approach, it was just comfort level. Our approach was to make the pitchers work, we don’t swing at the first pitch and I think that helps with the comfort level. The more you see the better chance you have of hitting it.”
Ryan Chessie also complimented Old Town’s effort in Wednesday’s match.
“I give them a lot of credit, they played a great game … we just came out on the right end of it this time.”
Saco will square off against Scarborough today at 7 p.m., and Ryan Chessie expects to face another tough opponent.
“They’re really good, they’re coming in with full rest, and they earned full rest. I think if we continue to play like we have been then we’ll be fine, I feel optimistic about it.”
— 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.
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