AUGUSTA — You usually go with your No. 1 in the first game of the playoffs, and The Red Barn went with Zack Lachance Wednesday morning against Pastime Club of Lewiston in the opener of the American Legion baseball state tournament.

Lachance was brilliant — two earned runs allowed in eight innings, and one of those on a two-out wild pitch. Unfortunately for The Red Barn, Pastime’s Corbin Hyde was beyond brilliant.

Additional Photos

SAFE AT THIRD: The Red Barn’s Jory Humphrey slides under a throw to Pastime’s Ryan Riordan at third base during the American Legion state tournament Wednesday in Augusta. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

EYE ON THE BALL: The Red Barn’s Tucker Whitman watches the ball into his glove in a game against Pastime during the American Legion state tournament Wednesday in Augusta. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Hyde struck out 16 in eight innings — including the last three batters he faced to work out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam — as Pastime held on for a 3-1 victory at Morton Field.

The Red Barn, which represents Augusta Post 205, faces Fayette-Staples in an elimination game at 10 a.m., today. Pastime will face Bangor in a winner’s bracket game at 2 p.m., today. Bangor defeated Fayette-Staples, 14-0, in seven innings Wednesday.

“He struck out most of the guys on fastballs,” The Red Barn coach Don Plourde said. “We’ve got to do a much better job of putting the ball in play. He was well over 100 (pitches) in the eighth inning, and we let him off the hook.”

Hyde had only one 1-2-3 inning, but threw the ball by the batters when he had to. In the first inning, Chandler Shostak led off with a walk, stole second and was left at third when Hyde ended the inning with a strikeout. In the second inning, two errors put John Suga on third, but Hyde ended the inning with another strikeout.

“At the beginning, I didn’t really have it,” Hyde said. “But toward the end of the game, I started to hit my locations, which helped me a lot.”

Pastime broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hyde led off with a single, but Lachance picked him off. Ryan Riordan then singled up the middle. But after a two-out error, Pastime had runners on first and third, and Riordan scored when Lachance threw the ball away trying to pick off Alex Small.

Pastime made it 2-0 in the fifth with a classic “little ball” rally. Luke Cote beat out a bunt single, stole second, went to third on a flyout and came home on a wild pitch. That turned out to be the winning run.

In the sixth, two-out back-to-back singles by Jory Humphrey and Suga, followed by an error, got The Red Barn within 2-1. Pastime got that run back in the seventh, as Briant Wigant delivered a two-out RBI single. Lachance finished with seven hits allowed and five strikeouts in eight innings.

“He pitched great,” Plourde said. “He actually should have pitched a shutout. He should have pitched a 1-0 game. You can’t give extra outs in tournaments like this with good teams. It kills you.”

Still, Pastime stranded two runners in four different innings, so The Red Barn was very much in the game when Lachance led off the eighth with a single to right-center. Things got more promising when Pastime booted a double-play grounder and everyone was safe.

Suga was up next, and tried to move the runners along with a bunt. He got the bunt in the air down the third-base line. With Riordan having to play back at third base for a possible force play, all Hyde could do was grab the ball and hold onto it, as the bases were loaded with nobody out.

At that point, the tying run was on second, and Hyde had already thrown 129 pitches. But Pastime coach Dave Jordan and pitching coach Jim Hyde (Corbin’s father) decided to leave him in the game.

“After they got the base-hit bunt, I thought for sure my dad was going to come out and take me out,” Corbin Hyde said. “But I was pumped that he didn’t.”

“We looked out at him, and he said he was fine,” Jordan said. “We felt that he gave us the best opportunity to get out of that inning — and he did.”

Just 13 pitches later, Hyde was walking back to the dugout after striking out the side. He admitted afterward that his legs were sore while facing the final two batters. After 142 pitches, he gave way to Luke Cote, who shut down The Red Barn in the ninth.

“In a game like this, somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose,” Jordan said. “I thought both teams are very even. Today, we were fortunate enough to be on the winning end of it.”

Westbrook 8, Windham 7: Robbie Hamilton gained a large dose of personal satisfaction as he drove in Zach Bean with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to cap his one-man show.

Hamilton, who played for Windham last year, joined Westbrook because Windham already had a full roster. On Wednesday, Hamilton doubled twice and homered, driving in five runs. His home run, to right-center field, tied the score at 7-7 in the bottom of the seventh.

Westbrook’s Ethan Nash pitched the final two innings to earn the victory. Ethan Petty had two hits for Windham, including a three-run double.

Bangor 14, Fayette-Staples 0, 7 innings: Justin Courtney struck out nine in five innings and hit a two-run homer as the Comrades rolled to the win.

Bangor had 15 hits on the day. Carl Farnham and Hunter Boyce had three apiece, and Curtis Worcester was 2 for 3. Fayette-Staples helped by committing five errors in the first four innings.

Staples Crossing 10, Brewer 3: Staples Crossing of Eliot scored seven runs in the first two innings and cruised to the win over the Falcons.

Staples Crossing scored five runs in the second inning, three of which came after a botched double-play ball extended the inning. The winners had 14 hits on the day. Noah McDaniel had three hits, while Jake Lebel, Zack Quintal, Max McComb, and Robert Jones had two hits apiece. Lebel socked a two-run homer for the final runs.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@mainetoday.com

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