Nova Seafood undefeated in rain-plagued tourney

BANGOR – Andrews Post of Portland rebounded from its first loss of the state American Legion baseball tournament to advance to the final day of play by routing Monmouth 20-7 in an elimination game Tuesday at Mansfield Stadium.

The victory advances Andrews Post to a 4 p.m. game Wednesday against either undefeated Nova Seafood or once-beaten Bangor, who were scheduled to meet in Tuesday’s late game – although that contest was being delayed at its outset by lightning and rain.

Nova became the only undefeated team left in the tournament earlier Tuesday by knocking off Andrews Post 8-6 in the completion of a winners’ bracket game suspended after three innings Monday night due to lightning.

A Nova Seafood win against Bangor would leave just the two Zone 4 representatives battling for the championship, with Nova Seafood needing one more victory to win its fifth straight state championship. Andrews would need to defeat the defending national champions twice Wednesday to claim its first state title since 2000.

If Bangor wins Tuesday’s late game, the Comrades would play Andrews at 4 p.m. Wednesday, with the winner to play Nova Seafood for the state title at 7.

Second baseman John O’Brion led Andrews to its seven-inning victory over Monmouth with a 5-for-5 performance – three doubles and two singles good for seven RBIs – in a game that included a 58-minute rain delay after the fifth inning.

Joey Martin added two doubles and a single to Andrews’ 21-hit attack, while Anthony Fasulo doubled and singled twice and Malcolm Cone-Coleman and Andrew Nodine each singled twice.

Tavis Hasenfus had a two-run double as Monmouth jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Andrews starter B.J. Foley in the top of the first.

Andrews rebounded with three runs off Monmouth starter Justin Plourde in the bottom of the first and scored five more runs in the second to take an 8-3 lead.

Coach Mike Rutherford’s club, now 25-2, scored at least one run in each of its six at-bats, capping off the onslaught with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth that led to the 10-run rule coming into play.

Hasenfus had a single to go with his double, while Pat Duchette and Justin Denbow each singled twice for Monmouth, which ends its season with a 22-4 record.

In Tuesday’s first game, Nova Seafood used five innings of one-run relief pitching by Josh Linscott to avenge three earlier losses this summer to Andrews, the Zone 4 champion.

The game was resumed in the top of the fourth with the teams locked in a 3-3 tie, and Nova never trailed after scoring a run off Ryan Arsenault in the bottom of the inning.

Nova Seafood added a single run in the sixth, then pushed its lead to 8-3 with three runs in the seventh as Chris Burleson hit a two-run triple and scored on a single by Mike D’Andrea.

Linscott yielded a run in the eighth before Andrews scored its final runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run double by Joe Fessenden.

Andrew Giobbi led Nova’s 12-hit attack with three singles, while Burleson had a triple and a single, Linscott doubled and singled, and D’Andrea added two singles and two RBIs.

O’Brion and David Neally each had three of Andrews’ 10 hits, with O’Brion hitting a double and two singles and Neally contributing three singles. Fessenden doubled twice, while Fasulo also doubled.

(Tuesday’s First Game)

Andrews Post (24-2) 300 000 012 -6 10 2

Nova Seafood (21-6) 201 101 30x -8 12 1

Moran, Arsenault (4), Cone-Coleman (5), Call (7), Boyle (8) and Neally; Lussier, Burleson (1), Linscott (4), D’Andrea (9) and Giobbi

(Tuesday’s Second Game)

Monmouth (22-4) 401 200 0 – 7 7 3

Andrews Post (25-2) 251 128 x – 20 21 1

Plourde, Jillson (2), Seefeldt (5), Ogden (6) and Hasenfus; Foley, Call (2), Fessenden (4), Boyle (7) and Neally, Blais (7)