BANGOR – Kevin McAvoy’s base hit in the air to right field drove in Brian Roach from first base and lifted the Orono-Veazie Senior League all-star baseball team to a huge 5-4 victory over Canada in the host team’s opening game of the Senior League World Series at Mansfield Stadium.

“I was just looking to get a hit,” said McAvoy. “I was in a huge slump all game.”

Maine’s District 3 champions electrified the packed stands with the two-out win, especially after nearly having to play extra innings as the game inched toward midnight.

Prairie of Calgary, Alberta, plays South representative Virginia at 5 p.m. today. Orono-Veazie will face Virginia Tuesday at 8 p.m. in its next game.

Roach, who ran at full speed all the way from first base in order to score the winning run, reached when Canada reliever Curtis Sehlstrom hit him in the previous at-bat. McAvoy stepped in and drove a 1-1 pitch to right.

“It was a curveball, low in the zone,” McAvoy said.

Things looked shaky for Orono-Veazie in the top of the seventh. The hosts had taken a 4-3 lead in the sixth as a leadoff single by McAvoy and three Canada errors in the sixth inning helped Orono-Veazie take its first lead since the first inning. But Mike O’Brien’s bouncing groundball single to left field scored Mike Southwood from third, tying the game for Canada.

Andrew Patterson struck out eight and didn’t walk any. He also gave up 14 hits, but Canada stranded 11 baserunners.

Orono-Veazie’s defense pulled Patterson out of jams in the second, third, and fourth innings. Canada scored a run in the second on a Matt Adamson sacrifice fly, but Mike Tardiff’s catch in center field started a double play that got Jeff Matsumiya at third. Patterson struck out the final batter of the inning.

Orono-Veazie took an early lead when Dustin Thomas hit a towering double to center field that plated McAvoy, who had reached on a fielding error. Canada tied it in the second thanks to a Matt Adamson sacrifice fly.

Canada starter Sean Verrier struck out nine. Sehlstrom took the loss.

In the Pool A afternoon game, Shaun McEnhimer took a perfect game into the fifth before surrendering two runs, but gave up only two hits while striking out 11 to lead South representative Chesterfield Little League of Virginia to an 8-2 victory over Hilo, Hawaii, of the West region.

McEnhimer fanned eight West batters in four innings of work, and kept the Hawaiians off-balance all game with just a fastball and a curve.

“That usually gets the job done,” he said. “It’s gotten it done for me in the past. I just had both of the pitches clicking.”

Of course, a 15-hit offensive effort helped. Will Childs, who was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, said the Chesterfield squad has been hitting the ball well through all-star play.

Figuring out Hilo starter Myles Ioane was key.

“He’d throw his breaking ball and wouldn’t get it for a strike, and then he’d throw his fastball,” Childs said. “We’re a real good fastball hitting team. We see it real well, so we capitalized on his errors.”

McEnhimer helped himself out with two singles, a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

He also gave up just one walk.

McEnhimer only faltered in the fifth. He got a groundout to open the inning, but Kulea Bondallian hit a single to shallow right to provide the West with its first baserunner. McEnhimer then hit Darrick Iida in the left arm to advance Bondallian to second.

Ryan Pagan, the next batter, hit the ball to the left side of the infield, and when McEnhimer fielded the ball he overthrew first. Bondallian and Iida scampered home.

The South ended the inning on a better note, however. Pagan tried for home on a Jessie Yamashita fly ball, but center fielder Lance Firebaugh made the catch and threw home to Childs, who tagged Pagan for the final out.

The Hilo team conceded it wasn’t as sharp after a three-day trip from Hawaii, but coach Hale Decker said McEnhimer was just too good Sunday.

“When we had people on base we showed what we could do, but he was awesome,” Decker said. “He was really good.”

U.S. SOUTH 8, U.S. WEST 2

(Sunday Afternoon)

Chesterfield, Va. (1-0) Hilo, Hawaii (0-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Reed, ss 4 3 3 1 Inouye, ss 3 0 0

McEnhimer, p 4 2 3 1 O. Otsuka, c 3 0 0

Childress, lf 4 1 1 2 Hassenritter, rf 0

Brown, 1b 4 0 1 0 S. Otsuka, rf 0 0 0

Childs, c 4 1 3 2 Ioane, p/1b 3 0 0

L. Firebaugh, cf 3 0 1 0 Bondallian, 1b/p 0

b-Byrd 1 0 0 0 Iida, 3b 1 1 0

T. Firebaugh, 3b 3 0 1 1 Pagan, lf 1 0

Richardson, 2b 2 1 1 0 Spencer, lf 1 0

a-Burgwyn 1 0 1 0 Yada, lf 1 0 0

Marshall, rf 1 0 0 0 Yamashita, cf 2 0 0

Ullom, rf 1 0 0 0 Kaeo, cf 0 0 0

Correia, 2b 2 0 0 0

Totals 32 8 15 7 Totals 23 2 2 0

a- ran for Childs in second, third and singled for Richardson in sixth; b-struck out for L. Firebaugh in sixth

Chesterfield, Va. 105 000 2 ? 8

Hilo, Hawaii 000 020 0 ? 2

E? McEnhimer, O. Otsuka, Pagan, Yada; LOB? U.S. South 4; U.S. West 2; 2B? McEnhimer, Childs, Inouye; DP?L. Firebaugh-Childs; Inouye-Correia-Ioane; SB? Reed, Childress, Burgwyn, Iida

Chesterfield, Va. IP H R ER BB SO

McEnhimer (W, 1-0) 7 2 2 0 1 11

Hilo, Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO

Ioane (L, 0-1) 6 1/3 14 8 4 0 7

Bondallian 2/3 1 0 0 0 0

HBP? Iida by McEnhimer; WP? McEnhimer; T? 1:52; ATT? 375