AUGUSTA – The matchup was an all-too-familiar one for the Bangor Comrades. Same opponent, same situation, same margin of victory.

This time around, however, it wasn’t the same winning team.

Bangor came back from a three-run deficit in the sixth to edge New Auburn 9-8 in an American Legion State Tournament baseball elimination game on a hot and humid Monday afternoon at Morton Field.

The 22-7 Comrades will take on defending champ Nova Seafood of Portland in a 4 p.m. game Tuesday at McGuire Field. Nova is 26-2 and unbeaten in the tourney. New Auburn winds up 21-7.

The Comrades avenged a 10-9 loss to New Auburn last year that ousted them from the 2001 state tourney, on their home field, on the tourney’s second day. It was the motivation gleaned from that painful loss, which occurred after Bangor had taken a 9-1 lead, that rallied the Comrades.

“Some of the guys were talking about it and we just said ‘We’re not losing to these guys again.’ We wanted to beat them,” said shortstop Phil Cayford, who earned unofficial game MVP honors.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and the bases loaded, Cayford slapped a 3-2 fastball over the middle into center field to score two runs.

“It was a fastball. I knew he was coming with a fastball,” said Cayford, who also had a third-inning double.

Cayford also did his part in the field Monday. After Cayford’s fielding/throwing double error in the sixth allowed two unearned runs to score, the righthander atoned for his miscue with a two-inning relief effort that gave him his second win of the season.

Cayford walked two straight batters in the eighth after a leadoff groundout, but then used a maddeningly-effective curveball to strike out the next two hitters. In the ninth, Nick Lawler led off with a double down the left-field line. A groundout later, Craig Cormier drove him home with a single through the hole on the right side of the infield. Cayford then struck out the next hitter and ended things by inducing a force at second off a fielder’s choice grounder.

“I tip my cap to them. We didn’t make a single error today, but Bangor got the hits when they needed them,” said New Auburn coach Brian Flynn. “They knuckled down and made plays at the right time, and that’s a big reason we left 10 guys on base.”

Bangor tied things up at seven runs apiece in the sixth after Zev Myerowitz (2-for-4) led off with a single and Nate Hall was hit by a pitch. One out later, Brian Worster tripled to left-center to drive them both home and then came home himself on Tyler Jellison’s sacrifice fly to center.

Bangor’s rally came on the heels of New Auburn’s four-run outburst in the sixth with three of the four unearned runs the team scored on four Bangor errors.

“Our biggest concern was how well we were going to bounce back after yesterday [an 11-inning, 5-4 loss]. It took a lot of energy out of us,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “We got the win, but we didn’t play well today.

“The one thing they’ve done from the get-go this season is competed. Every kid has come through at one time or another for us to be successful.”

New Auburn’s Derek Miller hit a 360-foot home run over the fence in left in the fourth.

In Monday’s other games, Cole Farms of Gray eliminated Monmouth 9-4 and Nova downed Coastal Athletics of South Portland 6-3.

In the first game, Ryan Rand pitched a five-hitter while striking out six and walking six. He also hit a three-run homer in the seventh and singled to lead Cole Farms.

In the third game, Ryan Reid threw a seven-hitter and belted a solo homer to lead Nova past its Zone 4 rival.

(Monday’s First Game)

Cole Farms (17-10) 030 010 311 – 9 14 3

Monmouth (22-5) 000 000 301 – 4 5 1

Rand and Yanni; McCarthy, Gardner (7), Labbe (7), Fairchild (8) and Buckley

(Monday’s Third Game)

Coastal (23-7) 000 100 002 – 3 7 5

Nova Seafood (26-2) 041 000 01x – 6 7 2

Mileski, Gardiner (3) and Rutherford; Reid and A. Giobbi

COMRADES 9, NEW AUBURN 8

New Auburn (21-7) Bangor (22-7)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Verrill, 1b-cf 4 1 2 0 Cayford, ss-p 4 2

Robinson, 2b 2 0 1 0 Proctor, lf-rf 3 1 0

Flynn, rf 5 0 0 0 Tremble, 3b 4 0 0

Dumont, 3b 4 0 2 1 Sullivan, dh-p-lf 4 2

Lawler, ss-p 4 3 1 0 Myerowitz, 1b 4 1 1

Miller, c 5 2 1 2 Hall, 2b-ss 3 1 0

Cormier, dh-1b 4 1 2 2 Murphy, rf 2 0

Morin, cf 2 0 0 0 Dennis, 2b 1 1 0

Hird, cf-2b 3 1 1 1 Worster, c 4 2 2

Gagnon, lf 2 0 0 0 Jellison, cf 2 0 1

Smith, lf 3 0 0 0

Totals 38 8 10 6 Totals 31 9 7 8

New Auburn 100 204 001 ? 8

Bangor 201 103 02x ? 9

E?Cayford 2, Tremble, Hall; LOB?New Auburn 10; Bangor 5; 2B?Dumont, Lawler; Cayford, Sullivan; 3B?Worster; HR?Miller (2); S?Robinson 2; SF?Jellison; SB?Cormier; Murphy

New Auburn IP H R ER BB SO

Gamache (L, 4-2) 7 2/3 6 9 8 5 7

Lawler 1/3 1 0 0 0 0

Home IP H R ER BB SO

Nason 5 2/3 7 7 3 0 1

Sullivan 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 0

Cayford (W, 2-0) 2 2 1 1 2 3

HBP?Dumont (Nason), Lawler (Nason); Hall (Gamache); WP?Gamache 2; PB?Miller 2; T?2:44; ATT?59