Boys defeat Lewiston, but lose to EL

by G.E. Twine
     
     REGION - The win against Lewiston on May 30, was a great boost for the Vikings baseball team. On May 2, they dropped a close one, 4 to 3, against Edward Little.
     "We came into the Lewiston game at 0 and 2," said Head Coach Shane Slicer. "We lost our first two games. Then we bounced back and won two games. Beating Lewiston got us above 500 for our record. Lewiston always plays us tough and it was a big thing for us to beat a tough team like Lewiston. They did have some injuries, but they're going to win some games."
     Senior Dillion Trundy picked up his second win on the mound. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs, three were earned runs.
     "It wasn't his best performance," said Slicer. "I think the key was in the third inning. We had scored in the second inning so the score was one to nothing. Lewiston got two guys on base and then hit a fly ball and Devin Kish, our right fielder, threw the guy out at home - that was a great play. So we got a double play and that helped Dillon out a lot. He had given up four hits in that inning, but only gave up one run."
     With that play, Lewiston went from bases-loaded, to a man on first and a man on second with two outs.
     "They managed to get one run," Slicer said. "That was a great inning for Dillon to get out of, because he loaded up the bases with no outs. I think that was the key for us, because we came back and scored three runs in that inning. We went ahead 4 to 1, instead of it being a tough time for Dillon."
     Slicer took Trundy out because his pitch count was getting high and this time of year the weather is cold.
     Junior Tucker Hill took over and did "a real nice job," Slicer said.
     "We don't like them to throw too many pitchers," said Slicer. "I think Dillon had thrown 88 to 90 pitches, so we didn't want him to start another inning. So it was very valuable that Tucker came in and pitched so well. Dylan felt all right, but you really don't want your pitchers this early in the season to get too high in their pitch count."
     Trundy also rehabilitated his arm during the off-season because he had some soreness in his shoulder. Slicer didn't want to push Trundy too hard until the weather warms up.
     "Tucker gave up one hit in the last two innings," added Slicer. "He throws a real nice curveball. That's the thing with Tucker, when his curveball is on, he is real effective and he did a nice job. We had [Ryan] Yates ready to go in case they got close, but they never did."
     There were offense highlights also. Senior centerfielder Nigel Cromwell had two hits, including a single in the third inning that allowed two to score. Oxford Hills scored three runs that inning. Devin Kish, in conjunction with his defensive work, had two hits as well with an RBI in the fourth inning, added Slicer.
     "Against Edward Little, we started out well and scored three runs in the first inning," Slicer said. "And then we didn't get a hit until the seventh inning. It was a good start, but then offensively, we didn't produce much. We had a chance to win in the seventh inning. We had a guy on third base with one out, but just couldn't manage to get the score and EL squeaked one out against us.
      "Our record is three wins and three losses," he continued. "We've won three in a row and then lost to Edward Little."
     On Wednesday, May 7, after the Advertiser Democrat's deadline, the Vikings played Cony. The team will face Cony again at home at the Don Gouin Athletic Complex in South Paris on May 12.