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LINCOLN – They may be looking up at the race for the final playoff berth in the American Legion Zone 1 baseball ranks, but the Presque Isle Patriots have mastered the role of spoiler.
Hampden, Motor City of Bangor and Lincoln entered Thursday’s action tied for sixth place in the zone, but the Patriots have now defeated each of those contenders in the last five days.
Lincoln was the latest victim, as Logan McLaughlin and Matt Enman combined to pitch a four-hitter and Matt Chasse and Zac Campbell each drove home three runs to lead Presque Isle to a 7-4 victory over the Lumber at Mattanawcook Academy.
“We want to end the season playing well,” said McLaughlin, who struck out five and walked just one in six innings before Enman came on to strike out the side in the seventh. “We’re shooting to knock some of these teams out because they beat us the first time around.”
Lincoln (7-10) tried to put the Patriots away early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead as Peter Coggins hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Tyson Tash doubled home Lance Bernier in the third.
But Presque Isle, which had some loud outs early in the contest, began finding gaps in the Lincoln defense by spraying the baseball around the field en route to a 10-hit evening.
“They hit the ball very well, and the McLaughlin kid came out and kept us off balance,” said Lincoln coach John Montgomery, “Other than those two early innings we couldn’t get anything going. He kept us guessing and he was throwing well enough that he had us swinging at some bad pitches.”
Presque Isle (5-13) took the lead with four runs on four hits in the top of the fourth. Ted Walker started the rally with a one-out opposite-field single to left, and Enman followed with a ground single to left.
A two-out walk to Mitch Folsom loaded the bases before Campbell went the opposite way for a two-run single to right. McLaughlin then walked before Chasse capped off the uprising by hitting a 3-2 fastball from Lincoln starter Andy Kay through the shortstop hole for a two-run single.
“We were hitting the ball solid early but right at them,” said Enman. “Then we started hitting them in the gaps and that’s what got us going.”
McLaughlin complemented that offensive momentum by retiring seven straight batters during the middle of the game and not allowing a hit over his final 3 1/3 innings of work.
“I tried to mix things up and keep the hitters off balance,” said McLaughlin, who will be a sophomore at Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in the fall. “I started out firing, then once we got the lead that picked up my confidence a lot .”
McLaughlin also helped his cause offensively, tripling home Folsom and scoring on an RBI single by Chasse in the sixth to extend Presque Isle’s lead to 6-3.
Lincoln scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Cory Barnett, but Presque Isle third baseman Kasey Brewer prevented additional damage by starting an inning-ending 5-3 double play with two runners aboard.
“It’s a lot easier playing with no pressure,” said Chasse, “but we’ve been making fewer errors and when we don’t make errors we can compete with any team.”
Campbell plated Presque Isle’s final run in the top of the seventh, laying down a perfect suicide squeeze to score Enman from third base.
Chasse had a double and two singles and Enman hit three singles to pace Presque Isle’s offense, while Tash tripled and doubled for Lincoln.
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PATRIOTS 7, LUMBER 4
Presque Isle (5-13) Lincoln (7-10)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
McLaughlin, p-rf 4 1 1 1 Bernier, cf 4 0
Chasse, lf 4 0 3 3 Manzo, ss 3 0 0
Thibodeau, cf 3 0 0 0 Kay, p-3b 3 0
Soucy, 2b-ss 3 0 0 0 Tys. Tash, 3b-lf 2 1
Walker, 1b 4 1 1 0 Barnett 1b 2 0 1
Enman, ss-p 3 2 3 0 Coggins, lf-p 3 1 2
Brewer, 3b 3 0 0 0 Harris, 2b 3 0 0
Folsom, c 2 2 1 0 McCarthy, c 2 0 0
Campbell, rf-2b 3 1 1 3 Voisine, ph 1 0
Russell, rf 3 0 0 0
Totals 29 7 10 7 Totals 26 4 4 4
Presque Isle 000 402 1 – 7
Lincoln 021 001 0 – 4
E-Brewer 2, Walker; Tys. Tash; LOB-Presque Isle 9, Lincoln 3; DP-Presque Isle 1, Lincoln 1; 2B-Chasse; Tys. Tash; 3B-McLaughlin; Tys. Tash; S-Campbell; SF-Barnett; SB-Brewer; Kay, Tys. Tash
Presque Isle IP H R ER BB SO
McLaughlin (W, 1-1) 6 4 4 2 1 5
Enman (S, 2) 1 0 0 0 0 3
Lincoln IP H R ER BB SO
Kay (L, 0-5) 5 1/3 9 6 6 2 5
Coggins 1 2/3 1 1 1 2 1
HBP-Enman (by Coggins); WP-McLaughlin; Kay, Coggins;T-1:48; ATT-55 (est.)
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