SACO — Portland continued to play error-free ball while taking advantage of five Thornton Academy errors to score five runs on Saturday in an 8-1 victory.
“These kids work hard on their defense. That’s the second game that we have had no errors,” said Portland Coach Mike Rutherford, who has helped the Bulldogs reach at least the Class A South semifinals in the past three years. “In high school baseball, if you throw strikes and you don’t make any errors you are going to be in every game. And you’re going to win most of them.
“Today they made five and we made zero. Obviously we had a lot more hits, but every error they made we took advantage of it.”
The Bulldogs (2-0) scored an unearned run in the first inning. Ben Stasium (2 for 4, 2 runs) led off with a single and scored on Dom Tocci’s sacrifice bunt.
Two more Thornton (1-1) errors contributed to Portland’s four-run fourth inning which made the score 5-0.
Tocci reached base when shortstop Brogan Searle-Belanger’s throw took first baseman Toby Pydych was off the bag. Four straight singles brought in two runs with Ben Sawyer (3 for 4, 2 RBI) and Jackson Villani driving in runs. Then another error allowed two more runs to come in.
Thornton had just four hits, and Coach Jason Lariviere didn’t make excuses despite a nine-day layoff after a season-opening victory on April 19.
“I am very disappointed with the way we played today (especially) defensively making five errors,” Lariviere said, in his first year. “I don’t think we played well and they played outstanding. When you have four hits and make five errors, it’s tough. We were ready to play. We should have made those plays.”
Tocci was spectacular on the mound, throwing a complete-game four-hitter with four strikeouts and one walk. He did hit two batters.
“It feels great to get a win when playing away, which is always hard,” said Tocci, a junior who earned the win in relief in a season-opening victory over Noble. “We just try to go out there and get the win and get rolling early in the season.”
Tocci’s only trouble was in the fourth inning when he hit two batters – Kolby Lambert and Cameron Seymour – to open the inning. A passed ball put runners on second and third with no outs, but the Trojans were limited to one run on a groundout by Pydych which made the score 5-1.
“(He) doesn’t overpower you but he’s such a competitor,” Rutherford said of Tocci. “You give him the ball and give him a lead and it is really hard to beat him.
“I told him the key to the game was men on second and third and no outs with meat of their lineup up and we got out of there with one run. When they got (only) one run we feel like we won that inning and they feel like they didn’t.”
Stasium and Tocci reached on errors in the seventh inning, scoring on a double by Snyder and single by Sawyer.
Cameron Cross finished with two hits for the Trojans.
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