The Acadians of Post 207, Ellsworth-Trenton, probably aren’t going to hit many home runs. And they probably aren’t going to steal many bases.

But they have shown the ability to come up with the clutch hit and that, combined with solid pitching and good defense, has guided the Acadians to a 3-1 start in Zone 1 American Legion baseball play entering Monday’s game against Bangor.

“We aren’t going to scare anybody with our lineup, but we’ve managed to come up with the runs we’ve needed so far,” said first-year coach Jack Merrill. “Our hitting seems to be spread out. The lower part of the lineup has begun to hit the ball.”

If the Acadians can consistently produce runs, they should be in the hunt for one of the two state tournament berths.

The Acadians were 14-12 and fouR

“I’m hoping that pitching is one of our strengths,” said the 41-year-old Merrill. “That’s always been the key to winning baseball games. And it looks like we have six strong throwers.

“Defensively, we’ve played very well. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with our efforts in the field,” added Merrill.

The offensive catalysts will be second baseman Eric Lanks, who attended Franklin and Marshall College (Pa.) this past year, and center fielder Mark Leighton of Narraguagus High School in Harrington. Lanks is a summer resident of the Ellsworth area.

The two Legion veterans were chosen to the All-Zone 1 Second Team a year ago as Leighton hit .351 for the Acadians last summer and Lanks hit .326 with 12 runs batted in.

Mount Desert Island High School’s Steve Linscott will do the catching with Sumner High of East Sullivan’s Aaron Naumann backing him up. Sumner’s Micah Richardson is the first baseman with Ellsworth’s Jeff Haskins and MDI’s Jared Polchies also seeing duty there. MDI’s Mike Clark is the shortstop and Ellsworth’s Justin Harmon plays third.

Harmon can also play short; George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill’s Will Holloway can play second or short and MDI’s Travis Mace and GSA’s J.T. Loomis are reserve third basemen.

GSA’s Gerry Gray and Matt Haney flank Leighton in left and right field, respectively. Ellsworth’s Mike Clough and Paul Farley can also play the outfield along with Corey Farley.

Paul Farley, who was 6-1 for Ellsworth High in the spring, GSA’s Greg Marancik and Polchies comprise the three-man starting rotation with Clough, Richardson and Clark being the primary relievers.

Farley and Clark were PVC Class B All-Stars this past spring.

“I’d like to think we’re going to be competitive and among the group fighting for a state tournament spot,” said Merrill. “There are a lot of strong teams so we’re going to have to play our best baseball to compete.”