MILLINOCKET – There’s nothing like a quick start to quell the anxieties of a young baseball team making its playoff debut.

The Stearns Minutemen – with four sophomores and a freshman in the lineup – scored six runs in their first two at-bats and then rode the two-hit pitching of Ryan Bouchard and Jordan Burleigh to a 6-1 win over Washington Academy of East Machias in an Eastern Maine Class C quarterfinal Thursday at the James R. DiFrederico Memorial Field.

“Jumping out to a good lead lets those young kids relax a little, and then they just went out and kept playing ball,” said Stearns coach John Montgomery. “A few of them were uptight in that first inning, but they came in, got a couple of base hits and just relaxed.”

The win advances No. 4 Stearns (13-4) to a regional semifinal Saturday at No. 1 George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill. GSA, the two-time defending state champion, owns a pair of regular season wins over Stearns.

No. 5 Washington Academy ends its season with a 12-5 record. Each starter in the Stearns lineup had at least one hit, with Burleigh hitting a double and a single and Travis Martin and D.J. Charette each hitting two singles to pace the 12-hit attack.

“We all put our bats on the ball,” said Burleigh, “and today we were hitting the ball hard and finding holes.”

On the mound, Bouchard and Burleigh combined to strikeout nine batters while walking five. Bouchard worked the first three innings before giving way to Burleigh, meaning the senior righthander can come back and start against George Stevens on Saturday.

Burleigh, a sophomore righty, struck out four and walked two in four innings of scoreless relief.

Stearns took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against WA starter James Ramsdell. Tyler Emerson hit a one-out single and scored when Burleigh’s double to left-center was bobbled in the outfield. Bouchard reached on a fielder’s choice as Burleigh was caught between second and third. Bouchard then stole second and scored on a two-out single to center by freshman Justin Pelkey.

The Minutemen added four runs on five hits in the second. Martin, Charette and Mike Simon, the 7-8-9 batters in the order – each singled to load the bases with no one out before Ryan Beaulieu hit a two-run single to right-center.

Ramsdell then apparently had Beaulieu picked off, but the ball was dropped during the ensuing rundown, enabling Beaulieu to reach second as Simon scored. Burleigh then singled home Beaulieu to give Stearns a 6-0 cushion.

“Stearns jumped on us early,” said WA coach Blaine Steeves. “James is a control pitcher, but he was leaving the ball up in the zone, and they were hitting it when he left it up in the zone.”

WA scored its only run in the third, as Corey Colbeth was hit by a pitch and scored on Ramsdell’s one-out double to left.

Mark Fields had the Raiders’ other hit, a one-out single to right in the top of the fourth.

WA also got a strong relief effort from Nick Wood, who scattered four hits while walking no one over the final four innings.

But by that time, Stearns already had all the offense it needed, and any pregame jitters were long gone.

“When you jump on a team early, it takes a little of the pressure off your shoulders,” said Bouchard.

MINUTEMEN 6, RAIDERS 1

Washington Acad. (12-5) Stearns (13-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Colbeth, ss 2 1 0 0 Beaulieu, cf 4 1 2

Kim, 2b 2 0 0 0 Emerson, c 4 1 0

Ja. Ramsdell, p/c 3 0 1 1 Burleigh, ss/p 4 1

Je. Ramsdell, c/3b 3 0 0 0 Bouchard, p/1b 3 0

Wood, 3b/p 3 0 0 0 Pelkey, lf/ss 3 0 1

Fields, cf 3 0 1 0 Albert, dh 3 0 0

Hostetter, 1b 2 0 0 0 Rucci, 2b 0 0

Ackley, rf 2 0 0 0 Saucier, pr 0 0 0

Simmons, lf 3 0 0 0 Martin, 3b 3 1 0

Charette, 1b 2 1 2 0

Porter, lf 1 0 0 0

Simon, rf 3 1 1 0

Totals 23 1 2 1 Totals 30 6 12 4

Washington Academy 001 000 0 – 1

Stearns 240 000 x – 6

E- Fields, Hostetter, Simmons, Kim, Colbeth; Bouchard, Pelkey; LOB- WA 7, Stearns 6; 2B- Ja. Ramsdell; Burleigh, Bouchard; DP- Je. Ramsdell to Hostetter; Pelkey to Rucci to Bouchard; SB- Colbeth; Bouchard, Pelkey, Simon

Wash. Acad. IP H R ER BB SO

Ja. Ramsdell (L, 7-3) 2 8 6 6 0 1

Wood 5 4 0 0 0 0

Stearns IP H R ER BB SO

Bouchard 3 1 1 0 3 5

Burley (W, 5-1) 4 1 0 0 2 4

HBP- Colbeth (by Bouchard); WP- Bouchard; BK- Wood; PB- Emerson; T- 1:40; ATT- 100