CAMDEN – Until Tuesday, the John Bapst Crusaders had hit exactly zero triples this season.

Bill Ford hadn’t hit once since his Senior Little League days.

But in a game played in the shadow of Mount Battie, it’s only appropriate that things would get … well, a little batty.

At the bat, that is.

Ford lashed two triples and scored four times to lead the No. 9 Crusaders to a 13-3 win over No. 8 Camden-Rockport in an Eastern Maine Class B preliminary game.

John Bapst starter Scott Tremble recovered from early trouble to hold Camden-Rockport to five hits, striking out six and walking four.

The 9-8 Crusaders face No. 1 Orono in a Thursday quarterfinal matchup. The Windjammers finish at 8-9.

Ford, Bapst’s No. 8 hitter, also connected for a single to lead a 13-hit attack. Teammates Derek Damon and Jeff Millard smacked triples.

The formula for a Bapst three-bagger was simple: Hit it hard toward the mountain and run like crazy.

The Camden-Rockport field has no fence, and the hardpan in the outfield helps balls sneak through.

“It was crazy,” Ford said of the fenceless field’s friendly confines.

“In pregame I noticed that the ball skips across this outfield, and I thought it would roll quite a ways.”

Even Tremble, who never gave up an extra-base hit, was a little concerned by the possibility.

“It’s kind of scary as a pitcher,” he said. “If it gets into the gap, it could roll forever.”

He was right.

The Crusaders jumped all over freshman starter Mike MacDonald, who entered the game with a sparkling 1.97 earned run average and left after just 2 2/3 innings, giving up 10 runs. Just three of the runs were earned.

The Windjammers didn’t help their pitchers, making five errors.

After scoring three runs in the first inning, the Crusaders gave up three in the bottom of the inning when Camden-Rockport put three of their five hits together with a walk.

But in the second, the Bapst bats stayed hot, while the Windjammers wouldn’t score again.

Ford opened the second with his first triple on a smash to right-center. Scott Tyree reached on an error before Damon drove him in on his triple. Tremble rapped a single, stole second, and rode home on Joel Perry’s single to make it 7-3.

“All their hitters swung the bats,” C-R coach Chuck Medrano said.”That was a pretty good pitcher they hit around there.”

Meanwhile, his counterpart, Tremble, made it tough on the ‘Jammers. He got out of a jam in the second before settling down for good.

Tremble retired 11 straight batters from the third through the sixth and allowed only one runner to reach scoring position after the second.

“Once we had the comfortable lead, I wasn’t as afraid to throw the ball down the middle,” Tremble said.

Medrano gave Tremble credit for stifling his big bats.

Crusaders 13, ‘Jammers 3

John Bapst (9-8) Camden-Rockport (8-9)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Millard, ss 4 1 1 2 Gushee, 2b 2 1 1 0

Damon, 2b 4 2 3 2 MacDnld, p-3b 3 1 2 1

a-Mallar 1 0 0 0 Moro, cf 3 0 0 0

Tremble, p 4 3 3 1 Peck, c 2 1 0 0

b-Hawes 0 0 0 0 Neville, 1b 3 0 0 1

Perry, 1b 5 1 2 1 Marden, lf 3 0 2 1

Waring, c 4 0 0 0 Dckrson, dh-p 2 0 0 0

Brockett, lf 2 0 0 1 Vollhart, rf 0 0 0 0

Susi, 3b 4 0 0 0 O’Donnell, 3b 1 0 0 0

Ford, rf 4 4 3 0 Lippman, rf 1 0 0 0

Tyree, cf 2 2 1 0 d-Callanan 1 0 0 0

c-Raczek 1 0 0 1 Price, ss 2 0 0 0

Totals 35 13 13 8 Totals 23 3 5 3

a-struck out for Damon in seventh

b-ran for Tremble in seventh

c-grounded out for Tyree in seventh

d-struck out for Lippman in seventh

John Bapst 343 011 1 – 13

Camden-Rockport 300 000 0 – 3

E – Gushee, O’Donnell 2, Price 3 2B – Tyree 3B – Ford 2, Damon, Millard LOB – John Bapst 6, Camden-Rockport 4 DP – Gushee to Price SB – Tyree, Tremble 2, Brockett; Gushee 2, Price S – Tyree SF – Brockett

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

John Bapst

Tremble (W,4-2) 7 5 3 3 4 6

Camden-Rockport

MacDonald (L,3-3) 2 2/3 9 10 3 0 3

Dickerson 4 1/3 4 3 3 3 6

WP – Tremble; Dickerson TIME – 2:05 ATTENDANCE – 103