Pitchers help Brewer gain twinbill sweep

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BREWER – All summer long, whenever Brewer’s American Legion baseball team is mentioned, it’s almost always done with the word “offense” in the same breath.

That’s understandable, given Brewer’s gaudy scoring average of 11 runs per game, but the Falcons would like people to know that their success isn’t all due to their batting. They think they have some pretty good pitching too.

“It’s real good,” said second baseman Abram Allard, one of Saturday’s offensive stars as his Falcons swept a doubleheader against Lincoln 15-3 and 10-4. “I think we have a great pitching staff.”

Sure, Brewer’s bats were doing their usual thing – banging out hits in bunches – but the pitching staff did more than enough to justify Allard’s confidence as starters Chad Gomm and Kyle Dalton were solid.

At 20-1, Brewer is assured of the top seeding in Zone 1’s postseason tournament, but 10-12 Lincoln is on the bubble as a prospective member of the six-team playoff field.

In the first game, Gomm came within two strikes of his first no-hitter before No. 9 hitter Brody Artes blistered a grounder down the right field line and past lunging first baseman Andy Patterson for a single. Two more singles, both of the infield variety, loaded the bases and then Matt Malone took away the shutout too with a three-run double to center.

“I didn’t even really know I had one [no-hitter],” said Gomm, now 8-0. “It was big when I realized I had a shot at it, but I think I got a little too overconfident that last inning.”

Gomm managed to compose himself enough to get the last out on a strikeout – his 13th of the game – and finish up a four-hit, four-walk outing in which he threw 76 of 123 pitches for strikes despite not having command of his usually nasty curveball.

“Well, that near no-hitter was quite impressive. No question they have good pitching,” said Lincoln coach Greg Reed. “I mean, I don’t think we made them make more than a couple plays there.”

Gomm didn’t need much help, but he got plenty as Allard led a nine-hit Brewer attack.

Allard had two doubles and three RBIs, Zach Bouzan-Kaloustian added two singles and an RBI, and Joel Barrett ripped a two-run single in the game-icing fourth to prolong an inning in which Brewer scored nine runs, had seven hits, and sent 13 batters to the plate.

In the second game, the visiting Lumber started off quickly with a run in the first, two more in the second, and another in the third, but the Falcons answered quickly each time with a four-run first, three-run second, and another in the third before capping things with a two-run sixth.

Saturday’s games were the first between the teams.

“It’s just a quirk in the schedule, thank goodness,” Reed said with a laugh. “There are no outs in their lineup. Not really. They just hit the ball.”

Brewer’s 10-hit attack was again led by Allard, who went 3-for-4 with a double, two singles, two RBIs, and three stolen bases. Barrett smashed a 330-foot, two-run homer over the left-field fence in the first and ripped an RBI double in the second. Leadoff man Adam Sheehan singled twice and had two of Brewer’s 10 steals.

“We’ve stolen over 100 bases, and with all the runs we’ve scored, that’s a statistic that gets lost, but we can do it without the big hits too,” said Brewer coach David Morris.

Dalton (3-0) and Brian Sullivan kept the Lumber bats knotted up. Dalton notched eight strikeouts and allowed six hits, four walks and three earned runs in five innings. Sullivan pitched two innings of two-hit, scoreless relief.

“When you’re going as well as we are right now, one of the biggest things you battle is complacency,” Morris said. “But we have a great group of guys who want to win this thing and I think they know and have what it takes.”

Scott Flannery led Lincoln with a triple, single, and two RBIs.

FALCONS 15, LUMBER 3

(Saturday’s First Game)

Lincoln Brewer

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Flannery, 2b-p 3 1 1 0 Sheehan, 3b 2 1

Dow, cf-p 4 1 1 0 Moran, 3b 1 0 0

Malone, 3b 4 0 1 3 Harvey, ss 1 3 3

Lasko, rf 4 0 0 0 Libby, lf 1 0 0

McLellan, 1b 3 0 0 0 Barrett, 1b 3 1 2

Thompson, p-lf 3 0 0 0 Patterson, 1b 1 0

Gardner, lf-cf 1 0 0 0 Allard, 2b 3 3

Cousineau, ss 3 0 0 0 Davis, 2b 0 0

Artes, c 2 1 1 0 Sullivan, dh 2 1 0

Gomm, p 1 1 0 0

Bzan-Klstn, lf-ss 4 2 1

Sutherland, rf 3 0 1 2

Quimby, rf 0 0 0 1

McHale, c 2 1 0 0

Dunbar, 3b 1 0 0 0

Mercer, cf 2 1 0 0

Totals 27 3 4 3 Totals 27 15 9 13

Lincoln 000 000 3 ? 3

Brewer 102 930 x ? 15

E? Thompson 3, Cousineau 2, McLellan; Bouzan-Kaloustian, Dunbar; LOB? Lincoln 7; Brewer 6; 2B? Malone; Allard 2, Sheehan; 3B? Sutherland; SF? Harvey; SB? Artes, Flannery; Sheehan, Harvey, Bouzan-Kaloustian, Mercer

Lincoln IP H R ER BB SO

Thompson (L, 3-3) 4 2/3 7 11 8 5 3

Dow 1/3 2 4 3 4 0

Flannery 1 0 0 0 2 2

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Gomm (W, 8-0) 7 4 3 3 4 13

WP? Thompson; Gomm; T? 2:21

FALCONS 10, LUMBER 4

(Saturday’s Second Game)

Lincoln (10-12) Brewer (20-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Flannery, 2b 3 1 2 2 Sheehan, 3b 4 3 0

Cousineau, ss 4 0 0 0 Moran, rf 0 0

Malone, 3b 4 1 1 0 Harvey, ss 3 2 1

Lasko, 1b 2 0 0 0 Quimby, lf 0 0 0

Whitney, p 3 0 2 1 Barrett, 1b 3 3 3

Gardner, lf 2 0 0 0 Patterson, 1b 0 0 0

Thompson, lf 2 0 0 0 Allard, 2b 4 1 2

Kites, rf 1 1 0 0 Davis, 2b 0 0 0

Dow, cf 2 0 0 0 Wentworth, dh 3 0 0

Artes, cf 2 0 0 0 Sullivan, p 1 0 1

Woodman, c 3 1 2 0 Sutherland, cf 3 0 0

Libby, rf-3b 3 0 0 0

McHale, c 3 0 0 0

Dunbar, c 0 0 0 0

Bzan-Kalstn, lf-ss 2 1 0

Totals 28 4 7 3 Totals 29 10 10 7

Lincoln 121 000 0 ? 4

Brewer 430 102 x ? 10

E? Flannery, Malone, Lasko, Whitney, Woodman; Sheehan, Dunbar; LOB? Lincoln 10; Brewer 5; 2B? Barrett, Allard; 3B? Flannery; HR? Barrett (8); DP? Harvey-Allard-Barrett; SB? Whitney, Kites; Allared 3, Sheehan 2, Harvey 2, Sutherland, Bouzan-Kaloustian, Sullivan

Lincoln IP H R ER BB SO

Whitney (L, 1-3) 6 10 10 8 3 6

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

Dalton (W, 3-0) 5 6 4 3 4 8

Sullivan 2 1 0 0 2 2

HBP? Whitney (Sullivan); Bouzan-Kaloustian (Whitney); WP? Whitney 3; Dalton, Sullivan; BK? Sullivan; PB? McHale; T? 2:12; ATT? 93