SKOWHEGAN — Until Friday, when Isaiah Vigue pitched for the Skowhegan Area High School baseball team, he was replaced in the batting order by a designated hitter. In a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A game Friday against Lawrence, however, coach Mike LeBlanc decided to give his lefty a chance to swing the bat.

That decision might be the best hunch LeBlanc has played all season.

Vigue’s two-out double in the second inning in his first at-bat of the season sparked a Skowhegan rally, and Vigue returned his coach’s faith with a strong pitching effort, lifting the Indians to a 4-0 win on a rainy afternoon.

Skowhegan improved to 6-5 while Lawrence (5-5) dropped its third consecutive game.

“This is literally the first game I haven’t had a DH for me,” Vigue, who gave up just three hits for the complete game shutout, said. “I had to prove I could actually hit when I got into the lineup.”

Vigue’s double went to the right-center field gap. After Oakley Fortin walked and Will Stinson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Brendan Curran singled to score Vigue and give Skowhegan a 1-0 lead.

“(Vigue) bugged me the other day about it. I was kidding with him before, I said he takes more BP (batting practice) than anybody we have on the team,” LeBlanc said. “I told him I’d give him a shot. I had a little hunch today that he’d be right rearing to go and fired up, so I let him swing today.”

The run was the only one Vigue needed. Never overpowering, Vigue kept the Bulldogs guessing with his good breaking pitches and location. All three hits he allowed were singles, and the Bulldogs never had a runner reach third base.

“My slider was working pretty good and my curveball worked when I needed it. I was just feeling it today,” Vigue said.

Added LeBlanc: “The biggest thing with him, if he’s in command of his pitches and he gets ahead, he’s tough to hit. He’s just got that little edge about him.”

Vigue got some help from his defense, too. Center fielder Curran laid out for a catch in the second inning, and the Indians committed no errors. The closest Vigue came to a jam was in the top of the sixth. Kolby Lawrence led off with a walk, and Devon Webb singled. Vigue retired the next three hitters to end the threat.

“(Vigue) kept us off balance. He threw a lot of offspeed. He threw strikes, but he was all over the zone. He did a nice job all day,” Lawrence coach Rusty Mercier said.

Skowhegan added a run in the fourth. Vigue led off with an infield single down the first base line and was replaced by pinch runner Devon Turcotte. On Fortin’s sacrifice bunt, Turcotte saw nobody covering third for Lawrence, so he broke for the bag. A throw to third sailed high and Turcotte went home to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Skowhegan added two more runs in the fifth. Kyle Dugas scored on a wild pitch and Kam Doucette scored on Marcus Christopher’s double to right center field.

Derek Bowen pitched five innings for Lawrence and also had a single. Konnor Adams and JT Nutting each had a hit for the Bulldogs.

“They’re a very good team. We were fortunate to make the plays we did today. Everything worked out in our favor,” LeBlanc said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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