BANGOR, Maine — Circumstances weren’t going Brewer’s way midway through its American Legion Zone 1 baseball tournament play-in battle with Motor City of Bangor on Wednesday afternoon.
Motor City, the sixth and final seed, had grabbed a 4-0 lead while right-hander Cody Collins limited the third-ranked Falcons to just two singles while striking out six batters over his first four innings on the mound.
But the nine-inning grind of these postseason contests has a way of providing opportunities for all, and Brewer capitalized on some unique plays later in the game — including a collision between two Motor City outfielders and a triple play — to rally for a 7-6 victory at Husson University.
“We struggled at the beginning for a little bit, [and] Cody Collins threw a heck of a game,” said Brewer shortstop Logan Rogerson, who had three of the Falcons’ 10 hits. “Our bats came alive toward the end of the game.
“It’s a long game, definitely,” he added.
Brewer (14-5) will play No. 2 Bangor (13-5) in the first game of the four-team, double-elimination phase of the tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday. Motor City ended its season at 10-9.
The late play-in game matched No. 4 R.H. Foster of Hampden (12-6) against No. 5 Trenton (11-7), with that winner advancing to a 7 p.m. game Thursday against top-ranked Post 51 of Oakland (14-4).
Brewer right-hander Matt Pushard worked the first six innings to earn the win in Wednesday’s first game, with Alex Brooks pitching three scoreless innings for the save.
Pushard and Chase Allen each contributed two singles offensively for Brewer, while D.J. Monteith had four singles and Tyler Young had a double and two singles to pace Motor City’s 12-hit attack.
Motor City reached Pushard for three runs in the top of the fourth and another run in the fifth, but the Falcons struck back quickly in the bottom of the fifth.
Brooks was hit by a pitch before Motor City second baseman Ryan Ward made a highlight-reel catch with his back to the infield of a fly ball to medium right field by Jake Gauvin.
Rogerson then skied a fly ball toward the gap in left-center, but when Motor City left fielder Tommy Burns and center fielder Braden Upshaw collided, the ball fell in for a double that put runners on second and third.
“That sun’s brutal from the left side of the infield,” said Rogerson. “I thought it could have been trouble, but I thought they would catch it.”
Allen’s infield single to third then loaded the bases before Pushard lined a two-run single to right and Michael Grimble followed with a sacrifice fly to pull Brewer within 4-3.
The Falcons took a 7-4 lead with four runs in the sixth, with an RBI triple to deep center by Alex Brooks, an RBI double by Rogerson and RBI singles by Allen and Gauvin the key hits.
Motor City was poised to retake the lead in the top of the seventh as its first four batters reached base and Monteith and Young scored to make it a one-run game on Seth Pearson’s RBI single to right and a throwing error on the play.
Motor City still had Ward on third base and Pearson on first with one out when Eric Hoogterp grounded to second. Hoogterp was thrown out at first, then Pushard threw the ball to second where Pearson was called out for being out of the basepath.
Rogerson then fired to the plate to cut down Ward, completing the triple play.
“That was a big play for us,” said Rogerson. “I took the throw at second and then threw it home, but I didn’t tag [Pearson], they must have called him out of the basepath. I initially went to tag him, but I saw he was already by me so I threw it home.”
Motor City (10-9) 000 310 200 — 6 12 0
Brewer (14-5) 000 034 00x — 7 10 1
Collins, Burns (6) and Young; Pushard, Corey (7), Brooks (7) and Maxsimic
