Pandas persevere, rally past Mattanawcook Boulrisse sparks uprising with 2-run homer

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LINCOLN – The Lee Academy baseball program is steeped in recent success with two Eastern Maine Class D titles in the last three years.

So when the Pandas yielded three unearned runs in the third inning Friday, the confidence inherent in their championship pedigree came to the forefront. Charlie Boulrisse blasted a two-run homer and Tyler Thompson followed with a two-run single in the top of the fourth to give Lee back the lead, and senior righthander Gerry Worster made it stand up with an efficient pitching performance as the Pandas edged Class C Mattanawcook Academy 6-5 at Alumni Field.

“We know we’re going to put up runs,” said Worster, “and I think what shows we’re a good team is we had a couple of errors that hurt us but we went right back out and got a bunch of hits and the momentum changed right there.”

The win improves Lee to 5-1, the lone blemish an eight-inning loss to a Class C Dexter team that entered Friday’s play undefeated. “It’s been a very good start to the season,” said Pandas’ coach Dave Hainer. “We’ve had all but one game against Class C teams, and to be 5-1 at this point – I’ll take it.”

MA falls to 1-3 amid a killer early schedule, with losses to Lee, Dexter and highly regarded Searsport. Worster allowed one earned run on eight hits while striking out 10, walking no one and hitting a batter. He threw 111 pitches, 76 for strikes, while improving his record to 3-0.

“Gerry threw a lot of strikes,” said Hainer. “At the beginning of the game the MA batters worked him pretty hard. He was throwing strikes, but his pitch count was up because they put on some battles and fouled off a lot of pitches. But Gerry kept throwing the strikes, pounding the strike zone, and he still had enough going into the seventh because he had a couple of efficient innings in the middle of the game.”

MA lefthander D.J. Robinson also pitched effectively, scattering eight hits over six innings while striking out four and walking three. Freshman Tyler Tash worked a scoreless seventh.

Lee struck for a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Everett Houghton in the top of the third, but MA capitalized on two errors, a passed ball and an RBI single by Cory Kimball to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning.

That margin could have been greater, but Worster earlier emerged from a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the second unscathed, thanks to a pair of strikeouts and an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

“I thought the crusher in the game was when we had the bases loaded with nobody out and we never really put the ball in play,” said Lynx coach Greg Reed. “But that’s been the story with us so far this year.”

Lee wasted no time in regaining the lead. Kris King reached on an error to open the fourth, and Boulrisse belted a 3-2 pitch well beyond the left-field fence to tie the game. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with one out, setting up Thompson’s ground single to right that drove home Derek Worster and Blaine Clark to give Lee a 5-3 lead.

“The time before [Robinson] got me on a fastball away, so I was looking for something in,” said Thompson, a junior shortstop who finished with two doubles, a single and three RBIs. “It wasn’t the most well-hit ball, but it was in the right place.”

The Pandas added what proved to be a key insurance run in the sixth, as Clark (2 for 4) reached on a one-out error and scored from first when Thompson hit a two-out double to the gap in right-center.

MA cut the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth as Aaron Flannery hit an opposite-field single, reached third on a double by Adam Long and scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Bryan Berry.

Duncan Markie led off the Lynx seventh with an infield hit. Two groundouts advanced him to third before he scored the game’s final run on an infield error.

Leadoff hitter Dylan Hanscom paced the MA offense with a double and a single.

PANDAS 6, LYNX 5

Lee (5-1) Mattanawcook (1-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Clark, 2b 4 2 2 0 Hanscom, ss 4 1 0

G. Worster, p 3 1 0 0 Markie, cf 4 0

Thompson, ss 4 0 3 3 Murchison, lf/rf 4 0

Houghton, c 3 0 1 1 Drost, c 4 0 0

Doane, 3b 4 0 0 0 Kimball, 3b 3 0 1

King, rf 4 1 1 0 Zagorianakos, dh 4 0

Boulrisse, 1b 3 1 1 2 D. Robinson, p 0 0

McIver, pr 0 0 0 0 Tash, p 0 0 0 0

Stevens, cf 2 0 0 0 Slike, 1b 2 0 0

Linscott, ph 1 0 0 0 Flannery, 1b 1 1 0

D. Worster, lf 2 1 0 0 Welch, rf 1 0

Long, lf 2 0 1 0

Gardner, 2b 2 0 0 0

Berry, ph 1 0 0 1

Totals 30 6 8 6 Totals 32 5 8 2

Lee 001 401 0 – 6

Mattanawcook 003 001 1 – 5

E-Doane, Thompson, Boulrisse; Gardner, Hanscom; LOB-Lee 8, Mattanawcook 7; 2B-Thompson 2; Long, Hanscom; HR-Boulrisse; S-Stevens; SB-Houghton; Kimball

Lee IP H R ER BB SO

G. Worster (W, 3-0) 7 8 5 1 0 10

Mattanawcook IP H R ER BB SO

D. Robinson (L, 0-2) 6 8 6 4 3 4

Tash 1 0 0 0 0 1

HBP-Kimball (by G. Worster); WP-G. Worster; PB-Houghton; T-1:50; ATT-140