3 min read
Members of the Monmouth Academy baseball team celebrate following their 12-11 victory over Cony in a crossover game May 13 in Monmouth. (Mike Mandell/Staff Writer)

MONMOUTH — Noah Schultz is well aware of it: The Cony Rams have put a beating on the Monmouth Academy baseball team the past few years.

After winning 15-8 two years ago and 11-0 last year, Cony again had its offense rolling Tuesday in this year’s matchup. This time, though, the Mustangs had just enough answers.

Monmouth outlasted Cony 12-11 in a 3-hour, 5-minute crossover game on a rainy afternoon at Monmouth Academy. The Mustangs plated six runs in the second inning and five in the fifth before withstanding a Cony rally in the seventh.

“They embarrassed us the last two years we played them, and it was good to come back and get a W,” said Schultz, Monmouth’s starting catcher. “We just had to work hard and stay confident throughout the whole game against a good team.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cony made errors — six of them, to be exact — and Monmouth (8-1) took advantage. The Mustangs’ six-run second inning was ignited by a game-tying two-run double by Zane Foyt after Cony errors put Logan LeClair and Rory Foyt on base. The Rams also committed two errors in Monmouth’s five-run fifth.

• That’s not to say Cony (5-2) made it easy for Monmouth. The Rams pounded out 15 hits, an offensive showing that allowed them to erase the Mustangs’ 7-3 lead and nearly overcome a 12-7 deficit following the home team’s big sixth inning.

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• Monmouth’s defense, though, shut the door. After Cony, trailing 12-10, loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, shortstop Tyler Day keyed a double play to put the Mustangs one out from victory. Then, Gavin Parsons snagged a Lance Theriault line drive at second base.

“I said, ‘OK, let’s turn two here; if we give up a run, I’m OK with that,’” said Monmouth coach Eric Palleschi. “That’s a freshman (Day) in there filling in for a junior, Levi (Laverdiere), and he was in the right spot. That was a great play when we needed it on a hard-hit ball.”

Cony’s Parker Morin rips an RBI single during the first inning of Wednesday’s baseball game at Monmouth Academy. (Mike Mandell/Staff Reporter)

WHAT IT MEANS

• Monmouth collected its fifth straight win following a 3-2 defeat against Maranacook on April 29. The Mustangs did so in their third game in as many days, following wins Monday against Mt. Abram and Tuesday against Gardiner — and without one of their best players in Laverdiere (leg injury).

“We didn’t have our ‘A’ pitching staff today — we were kind of down — but the guys we put on the field battled,” Jacob Harmon, who pitched three innings, said. “(Cony) got some hits and hit some balls hard, but they’re going to; that’s a lineup that can swing it. I thought our guys did a good job powering through it.”

• After a 5-0 start, Cony has dropped back-to-back games on consecutive days. The Rams had outscored opponents 68-11 entering the week, but fell 6-2 against Leavitt on Tuesday.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“I think it was just grit and staying the course. We always talk about, ‘Don’t ride the wave,’ and there were certainly a lot of waves in this game, but it was about staying consistent and trusting in each other. … Even though it’s not the greatest conditions for baseball, it certainly feels great to get one over on them.” — Jacob Harmon

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“(Cony is) a very good team. (Coach Don Plourde) does a great job, and this is why we play each other. It was two great programs going at it, and we really had to battle the entire game to pull it out.” — Eric Palleschi

STAT LEADERS

• Cony: Parker Morin (4 1B, 3 SB, 4 RBI; L, 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, BB, 3 hits), Nolan Noyes (2 1B, RBI), Drew Lindquist (2 1B)

• Monmouth: Jacob Harmon (1B, 2 RBI; W, 3 IP, 3 ER, K, 2 BB, 8 hits), Zane Foyt (2B, 1B, SB, 3 RBI), Rory Foyt (2 1B)

UP NEXT

• Cony: vs. Dirigo (3-5), 4 p.m. Thursday

• Monmouth: at Spruce Mountain (2-4), 4 p.m. Friday

Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after...

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