Leland pitches in, lifts Orono to win

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DOVER-FOXCROFT – Dana Leland enjoys being a starting pitcher in the high school and American Legion baseball ranks.

But the righthander has found success in escaping the tight jams that mark a reliever’s lot in the sport, and that fortitude was pivotal Tuesday as he helped Orono pull away to an 11-4 American Legion Zone 1 victory over Penquis at Foxcroft Academy.

Leland, who will begin his senior season at Old Town High School in the fall, helped the Twins maintain a slim 4-3 lead after coming on in the sixth by holding Penquis scoreless after the Navigators put runners on first and second with no one out.

“I’m comfortable doing both, but I haven’t as much luck starting games,” said Leland after earning his second save of the summer. “I’ve done a lot better pitching in relief.”

Ian Champeon led off the Penquis sixth with a sharp double down the left-field line, prompting Orono coach David Utterback to send in Leland to relieve starter Travis Bryant.

Leland walked Andrew Richard, but then foiled a Penquis effort to advance the runners via the bunt by striking out the next two batters he faced. Danny Kane drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but Leland got Scott Kelley to pop out to end the threat.

“Dana just comes in there and battles,” said Utterback. “I think the hitters know what’s coming, but he moves it around well enough that he can keep them off balance a little and force them to chop it into the ground.

“We call him ‘Lights Out’ Leland. We give him the ball in the sixth and seventh innings and he seems to always get the job done for us.”

The Twins sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the seventh and scored seven runs to extend their lead to 11-3 and end the twilight drama. Pinch-hitter Kyran Swett popped a two-run double down the right-field line, and Corey Fournier had an RBI single to right while Orono also capitalized on four walks, a hit batsman and a Penquis error.

The win enabled 6-7 Orono to sweep its season series from 5-7 Penquis, an important potential tiebreaking factor as both teams are among several contenders for the final few berths to the six-team Zone 1 tournament that begins July 27.

“Both teams started out very well,” said Penquis coach Billy Kane, “and just at the end they had a little more today than we did when it counted.”

Fournier – who is batting better than .500 from the No. 9 spot in the Orono order – and Travis Dunton each added an RBI double in the game for Orono, while Max Winter and Matt Jones each contributed an RBI single.

Bryant earned the pitching win, yielding six hits and three earned runs in five-plus innings.

Penquis starter Nick Emery retired the first 10 batters he faced and held Orono hitless until Jones singled home Tyler Honey with the Twins’ first run in the top of the fifth.

That was the first of eight Orono hits over the game’s final three innings.

“The thing that was weird about this game was that we tend to strike out quite a bit, and we weren’t striking out early but they were making plays,” said Utterback. “Their shortstop [Danny Kane] made a lot of plays, and we hit the ball in the air and their outfielders caught them. But with a couple of times through the order, our guys made some adjustments at the plate.”

Penquis jumped out to a 2-0 third-inning lead. Danny Kane drew a leadoff walk and scored when Dan Beatham grounded an RBI double off the chalk down the left-field line. Beatham then scored on Emery’s ground single up the middle.

Orono took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, as Fournier and Dunton followed Jones’ RBI hit with back-to-back RBI doubles.

TWINS 11, NAVIGATORS 4

Orono (6-7) Penquis (5-7)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Dunton, rf 4 1 1 1 Kane, ss 2 1 0

McAleer, 3b-c 2 0 0 0 Kelley, 3b-p 4 0

A. Fournier, ph 1 0 0 0 Tompkins, p 0 0

Lukas, ss 1 1 0 0 Beatham, c 3 2 1

Leland, c-p 4 1 0 1 Emery, p-3b 4 1 2

Honey, cf 2 2 1 0 Bellemare, cf 3 0 0

Keezer, 1b 3 0 0 0 Weymouth, ph 1 0 0

Swett, ph 1 1 1 2 Champeon, lf 2 0 0

Winter, dh 2 1 1 1 Collins, ph 1 0 1

Bryant, p-3b 0 1 0 0 A. Richard, 1b 2 0 0

Jones, 2b 2 0 1 1 J. Richard, 2b 4 0 0

LeBreton, 2b 2 1 1 0 Conroy, rf 2 0 0

C. Fournier, lf 3 2 2 2 Boone, ph 1 0

Speed, rf 0 0 0 0

Totals 27 11 8 8 Totals 29 4 8 4

Orono 000 031 7 – 11

Penquis 002 010 1 – 4

E-Leland; Beatham, Kane; LOB-Orono 5, Penquis 10; 2B-Dunton, Swett, C. Fournier; Beatham, Champeon; HR-Emery; DP-Penquis 1; SB-Beatham 2

Orono IP H R ER BB SO

Bryant (W, 2-0) 5 6 3 3 2 3

Leland (S) 2 2 1 1 3 4

Penquis IP H R ER BB SO

Emery (L, 1-3) 6 6 7 7 7 5

Kelley 2/3 1 4 1 2 0

Tompkins 1/3 1 0 0 0 0

Bryant pitched to one batter in sixth

Emery pitched to three batters in seventh

HBP-Lukas (by Kelley); Beatham (by Bryant); WP-Bryant; Emery 3; PB-Beatham 2; T-2:00; ATT-40 (est.)