AUGUSTA — Saco capped its march out of the losers’ bracket Friday night with a Little League baseball state championship.
The District 4 champions rolled to a 14-1 win over Bayside of Portland to win the double-elimination tournament for 11 and 12-year-old players at Linscott Field.
Additional Photos
Saco advances to the East regional tournament, which will be held Aug. 2-11 in Bristol, Conn.
It was the third Little League title for nine of the 12 players on the team. That group also won state tournaments for under-9 and under-10 baseball players.
“Having all the same kids and (doing) well year after year is really good,” said leadoff batter Timmy Smith, who had two hits and scored three runs.
Saco went 5-1 in the week-long tournament, outscoring their five opponents, 63-14. In three of the victories, including Friday night’s win, games ended before the sixth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“Except for a couple of games during the entire all-star season, we’ve hit the ball very well,” Saco manager Todd Duchaine. “You’ve got to keep pace with us. If you’re not throwing your ace the whole game, it’s tough to keep up with us.”
Friday night, the District 4 champs banged 15 hits off three pitchers to beat Bayside for the second time in as many nights.
“We certainly made some errors in the field, but even with that said they were hitting the ball well today,” Bayside manager Chris Sawyer said. “When a team like that gets on a roll, it’s tough to slow them down. They’re a good hitting club.”
“Even if we’re down in the first inning, we never think we’re going to lose because we know we can come back,” winning pitcher Todd Chessie said.
Chessie limited the Portland team to three hits. He struck out seven and walked five in the four-inning game.
“Chessie certainly mixes up his pitches,” Sawyer said. “He’s got a good biting curve ball. He’s got a good fastball. “
Last Monday, Chessie took the loss when Will Snyder hit a three-run, first-inning homer to spark Bayside to a 4-1 win to send Saco into the losers’ bracket.
“It helped me to know where to pitch them,” Chessie said, of his earlier start against Bayside. “I mean, I knew whether to pitch inside or outside.”
Saco took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Smith led off game with a double and scored on Anthony Brancamante’s solid single to left. Two groundballs produced the other run.
Tre Fletcher led off the bottom of the first with his fourth home run of the tournament for Bayside’s lone run.
The District 4 champions, who batted around twice in the game, put the game out of reach early. They scored six runs in the second to move into an 8-1 lead.
Brancamante and Chessie, who had three singles, each drove in three runs. Brogan Searle-Belanger, who had a triple and two singles, had two runs batted in.
Ean Patry and Hunter Penley each singled twice.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.