Pieri propels Windjammers to win RBI single in 6th kickstarts 3-run rally that sinks KVAC rival Panthers

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ROCKPORT – Mike Cummons already had done considerable work from the leadoff spot in the Camden Hills batting order – with two singles and two runs scored through five innings of Monday’s KVAC Class B baseball game against Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.

So when Medomak Valley opted not to pitch to Cummons with the game tied, two out, and a runner on first in the bottom of the sixth, it was only a modest surprise.

But the intentional walk from Panthers’ lefthander Tom Kennedy to the lefthanded-hitting Cummons not only advanced Jeremy Burnside into scoring position with the potential go-ahead run, it also brought righthanded-hitting Christian Pieri to the plate.

And Pieri wasted no time rising to the challenge, grounding the first pitch he saw just inside the third-base line to drive home Burnside and propel the Windjammers to a 6-3 victory.

“First, I was thinking I better not get out because they obviously wanted to face me, but it felt amazing to get that hit,” said Pieri, a sophomore second baseman. “[Kennedy] threw me a fastball, and I was looking to swing at the first pitch and make ’em pay.”

Cummons soon scored on an error, and Noah Burke singled home Pieri to cap a three-run rally as 3-5 Camden Hills won for the third time in its last four games.

Burke (2-2) earned the win with a complete-game four-hitter. The junior righthander struck out eight, walked one, and allowed no earned runs while working in unison with catcher Miles Davee.

“Noah’s pitched four very, very good games for us, and we haven’t always gotten the runs for him,” said Camden Hills coach Tom Stammen. “But he’s kept us in games and has done a great job.”

Camden Hills took a 2-0 lead with runs in the second and third innings. Burke hit a leadoff double in the second and scored on a Gabe Blodgett groundout. Davee followed an inning later with an RBI single, though Kennedy pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with no further damage.

But the Windjammers have been bitten by one bad inning in several of their early losses this spring and fell victim to that again in the top of the fifth.

Medomak Valley (5-3) got on the scoreboard before no one was out thanks to three consecutive Camden Hills errors, and Alex Goldrup and Josh Chamberlin followed with RBI singles to give the Panthers a sudden 3-2 lead. But Burke avoided further damage, retiring the next three batters on a fielder’s choice and two strikeouts.

Camden Hills tied the game in its half of the fifth on consecutive hits with no one out by Cummons, Pieri, and Davee, followed by a wild pitch that enabled Cummons to score. Kennedy again escaped further harm with two strikeouts and a flyout, but the Windjammers had regained the momentum to use an inning later.

“We’re a young team,” said Burke, “and I think we’ve learned that we’ve got to stop the bleeding after that one bad inning, because it’s not the first mistake that’s going to get you, it’s the second one, and today we did a good job of stopping that.”

WINDJAMMERS 6, PANTHERS 3

Medomak Valley (5-3) Camden Hills (3-5)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Ferrier, ss 4 0 1 0 M.Cummons, cf 3 3 0

Ayotte, 2b 4 0 0 0 Pieri, 2b 4 1 1

Kennedy, p 2 0 0 0 Davee, c 4 0 1

Simmons, rf 3 0 0 0 Burke, p 3 1 1

Merrifield, c 3 1 1 0 Erskine, lf 3 0

Blackler, 3b 3 1 0 0 Blodgett, ss 3 0 1

Pease, 1b 2 1 0 0 J.Cummons, rf 3 0 0

Durkee, ph 1 0 0 0 Holbrook, dh 2 0 0

Goldrup, lf 3 0 1 1 Grinnell, 1b 0 0 0

Chamberlin, ss 3 0 1 1 Burnside, 3 3 0

Totals 28 3 4 2 Totals 28 6 10 4

Medomak Valley 000 030 0 – 3

Camden Hills 011 013 x – 6

E-Ferrier 2, Pease; Burke 2, Grinnell, Burnside; LOB-Medomak 5, Camden 7; 2B-Ferrier; Pieri, Burke; S-Holbrook; SB-Ferrier

Medomak IP H R ER BB SO

Kennedy (L,2-1) 6 10 6 3 2 5

Camden Hills IP H R ER BB SO

Burke (W,2-2) 7 4 3 0 1 8

WP-Kennedy 2; T-1:30; ATT-75 (est.)