Monday May, 4

SBS Beats Pape Thanks to their Guardian Angell

Wilkinson Park –  In a game with fewer hits than an unpopular Britney Spears album, Saco-Biddeford Savings made the most of its chances and held on for a 5-3 win against Pape Monday evening.  After a lead-off home run by Jon Vickers, SBS hoped to pounce on Pape off the bat, but Ryan O’Riordon settled down and didn’t allow a hit or run over the next three-and-a-third innings, striking out four and forcing six fly ball outs to the infield.  To pull this one out, SBS would need divine intervention...of sorts.

            With O’Riordon purring along like a finely tuned Chevy,  Chris Mitchell pitched like he was late for a date with a Supermodel, throwing under twenty pitches total in the first two innings.  In the first inning, two sophomores worked miracles; Thomas Hodgkins flashed the leather in center while Andrew Roberts scooped up a Vickers throw from short like it was the last piece of pie at the dinner table.  Three quick outs in the home half of the inning kept the score at 1-0 however.  After a lead off double by Jaren M. in the second and a steal of third, Mitchell bore down and struck out the side, stranding Muller like the cast of LOST.

            Mitchell and Vickers combined for another three strikeouts in the third, but not before Pape Chrevolet left some skid marks on the scoresheet.  Once Parker M. reached base, Gage Turkewitz singled him to second and James MacNeill brought him home with a base hit of his own.  O’Riordon helped his own cause with an RBI knock before SBS’ pitchers took care of business.  As has been the case every SBS game this season, SBS found itself playing catch-up.

            As Pape pitching continued to stymie SBS hitters, the Bankers were forced to turn to smoke and mirror tricks to knot the score at two.  After Roberts walked, he advanced on a Christian Guignard ground ball.  When a subsequent pitch went to the screen, Roberts took third and then advanced home on an overthrow.  Vickers shut down Pape in the top of the fifth, setting the stage for more parlor tricks.  First, Michael Kilmartin walked and eventually advanced to third base. Jake Angell also walked and then stole second to put two runners in scoring position with no one out.  Kilmartin was able to score when J-Vick roped a hard RBI grounder to first that Robbie Plummer expertly scooped up for an out.  Next, rookie Jake “the Halo” Angell showed baserunning savvy beyond his years when he decisively left third base on Hodgkins’ spinning grounder to the right side that left everyone safe and SBS staring at a 4-2 lead.  With two outs, Roberts provided an ounce of insurance when he fought off an 0-2 pitch and dropped it into right field, scoring Hodgkins who had stolen second.

            Hodgkins’ day was not done as he was called in to preserve the victory for SBS in the sixth.  After a strike-out, Sam Solomon sent a pitch to the wall and raced around the bases for an inside-the-park dinger.  Hodgkins, though, proved to be cooler than the shade on a hot summer day when he struck out the next batter and retired the final hitter with a grounder to Guignard, allowing Angell’s run to stand up as the game winner – divine, indeed, for SBS fans.  Up next for SBS is unbeaten Northeast Turf, Saturday, May 9.