We can debate for hours the decline in power numbers due to the new BBCOR bats in high school baseball this season. One thing that’s not up for debate is the increased safety, particularly for pitchers, and as evidence we have what happened last Friday when Skowhegan played Mt. Ararat.

In the first inning, Skowhegan pitcher Ben Salley was hit below the right eye by a ball hit back up the middle.

“It was too quick. It went right by my glove. I didn’t have any time to react at all. It was hard hit,” Salley, a sophomore, said. “I blacked out right after for a couple seconds. By the time I came through, everybody was helping me. I was kind of in shock, I guess. I didn’t really feel much.”

Skowhegan head coach Rick York ran to the mound, fearing the worst.

“I’ve seen that happen, I think, twice in my life. It’s the worst thing you could ever want to see in a baseball game,” York said. “You know, when he looked up, I saw no blood, but obviously I can see his face starting to swell up.”

Amazingly, Salley had no broken bones and did not suffer a concussion. When the swelling went down considerably by Skowhegan’s game on Monday against Messalonskee, his doctors cleared Salley to play.

The new bats are designed to lessen the trampoline effect of a batted ball. With the older metal bats, the ball that hit Salley would have come off the bat a little harder. What was a small, albeit ugly injury, could have been much worse.

“I am 100 percent sure that the new bats played a role in the outcome of the hit. If we had the other bats, I think the story definitely would end a different way,” York said. “The speed that ball would’ve been coming off of those old bats would have been a heck of a lot faster than what it was on Friday … You teach kids to drive it back up the box, and that’s what could happen.”

Salley, who can’t wait to get back into the lineup, knows he’s fortunate.

“I feel pretty lucky,” he said. “With the old bats, I probably wouldn’t be as lucky.”

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Two-time defending Class B state champion Waterville is back at the top of the Eastern B standings again this season, thanks in large part to the unexpected contributions of a pair of newcomers.

Seniors Matt Lee and Josh Gormley hadn’t played baseball since their Little League days ended six years ago. But when the pair asked coach Don Sawyer if they could try out, Sawyer was happy to find a place for them.

“They’re both tremendous athletes. The first thing we worked on with them, and they picked up on it really fast, they both started in the outfield,” Sawyer said. “They’re fast, and they have great hands. I said, ‘Jeez, we can find a place for you guys no problem.’ “

Early in the season, when Tyler Bouchard couldn’t play shortstop because of a shoulder injury, Lee stepped in.

“When Tyler couldn’t play, we tried all kinds of kids at shortstop,” Sawyer said. “Matty’s kind of unorthodox there, but he gets to balls, he makes plays. He makes the throws. Now we’re going with him. He’s kind of relished the fact that he’s there, I think.”

Gormley took over in left field, although Sawyer thinks he could be a better right fielder because of his strong arm.

“It’s a little bigger field here on the left hand side, and (Gormley) can get to a lot more balls than most kids can,” Sawyer said.

Lee and Gormley have been at the bottom of the Panthers’ lineup, and they’re producing. Each had a stolen base and a run in Wednesday’s 10-2 win over Winslow.

“They’re doing a good job at the bottom of the order, too,” Sawyer said. “Jeez, you take six years off and come back and try and hit pitching, they’re getting on base.”

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Winslow coach Jesse LaCasse faced a unique challenge in the late innings of Wednesday’s game at Waterville. In the middle of the sixth inning, Winslow’s left fielder Joe Hopkins was ejected for arguing a call. Since LaCasse had used all his subs, that left the Black Raiders with eight players.

Putting his remaining fielder’s in the right position to make plays was a challenge, LaCasse said.

“It’s a guessing game at that point,” LaCasse said. “You’ve got to try and force them to hit to a spot when you play with eight. It’s really all we were trying to do.”

The Black Raiders got out of the shorthanded inning relatively easily, allowing one run on three hits. Only one of the those hits, a double to deep right field by Lance Lefebvre, would have been a sure hit with a full nine man defense.

Because of the ejection, Hopkins must sit out today’s regular-season finale against Maine Central Institute.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com