BANGOR, Maine — Less than two weeks remain until the start of the 2016 Senior League World Series, but for six teams from throughout Eastern Maine the postseason is already under way at Mansfield Stadium.
Bronco-Hermon and Brewer scored victories Friday in opening-day play of the Maine District 3 tournament that chooses the host team for the SLWS, the Little League world baseball championship for 15- and 16-year-olds that has been held in the Queen City since 2002.
Bronco-Hermon, featuring players from Hampden Academy and Hermon High School, edged Sebasticook Valley of Newport-Pittsfield 6-3 in eight innings to advance to a winners’ bracket game against Holbrook at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Brewer rallied past Bangor 9-5 and will face defending District 3 champion Old Town at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Sebasticook Valley will play the Brewer-Old Town loser in an elimination game at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, with Bangor facing the Bronco-Hermon and Holbrook loser at 1:30 p.m.
The double-elimination district tournament continues through Wednesday, with a championship game at 5 p.m. and an if-necessary matchup at 7:30 p.m.
The District 3 champion will open Senior League World Series play at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 31, back at Mansfield Stadium against the U.S. Southwest champion — West University Little League of Houston, Texas, has won that region the last two years and gone on to become the SLWS champion both times.
Just one team has qualified to date for this year’s Senior League World Series, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 6. The Roberto Clemente Little League of Carolina, Puerto Rico, capped off an unbeaten run through the Latin America region with a 3-0 championship-game victory over Curacao on June 25.
The Asia-Pacific final between Guam and Australia was scheduled for Friday evening Eastern time, with the Europe-Africa title game between Barcelona, Spain, and Lazio, Italy, s also set to be determined this weekend.
The rest of the 10-team SLWS field — five U.S. regional champions and Canada — will be known either July 27 or 28.
Brewer rallied from a 4-0 second-inning deficit to win Friday night’s second game at the Maine District 3 tournament.
Evan Andrews, Josiah Cyr and James McLaughlin combined to pitch a four-hitter for Brewer, while Josh Pellegrino paced the winners’ 11-hit attack with two singles, a walk and three RBIs.
Cyr added a triple, two singles, an RBI and two runs scored, Tyler Hersey singled twice with an RBI for the winners and Hunter Umel reached base three times, scored twice and made a diving catch in left-center field to rob Bangor’s Zach Ireland of a hit.
Bangor took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a walk to Ireland, a stolen base, an infield single by Noah Missbrenner and a fielder’s choice grounder by Nick Crichton that scored Ireland when no tag was applied as he came home from third base.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the second on three walks and a hit batter, a sacrifice fly by Missbrenner and a two-run double to right-center by Zach Cowperthwaite.
Brewer’s offense broke loose in the top of the fourth, sending 13 batters to the plate while taking a 7-4 lead.
Brewer had five hits in the inning, including run-scoring singles by Tyler Hersey and Josh Pellegrino. Two Bangor errors and a balk helped push four more runs across the plate, with a bases-loaded walk to Pellegrino delivering the final run of the uprising.
Brewer added a run in the sixth as Cyr lined a leadoff triple to right-center and Evan Andrews walked before Pellegrino followed with a RBI single to left.
Cyr’s opposite-field single to right with two outs in the seventh scored Umel from third base for Brewer’s final run.
Bangor’s Dean Grass hustled his way to a run in the bottom of the inning as he walked, stole second, reached third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
Cowperthwaite doubled and singled and J.J. Higgins doubled for Bangor.
BRONCO-HERMON 6, SEBASTICOOK VALLEY 3 (8 inn.): Bronco-Hermon mounted a three-run rally after two were out in the top of the eighth to advance to the winners’ bracket.
Zach Nash was hit by a pitch and Nick Robidoux chopped a single to left field before Christian Greener delivered the go-ahead run with a ground single up the middle. Robidoux then scored as Rece Poulin reached on an error and Garrett Trask followed with an RBI single to give Bronco-Hermon its three-run cushion.
Alex Applebee then came on to pitch a scoreless bottom of the eighth to earn the save in support of winning pitcher Casey Sudbeck, who struck out 10 batters and walked just one over seven innings.
Nash, Robidoux, Greener and Trask each singled twice for Bronco-Hermon.
Josh Perry paced Sebasticook Valley with a double, two singles and two runs scored, while Zach Hartsgrove singled twice.
Bronco-Hermon 011 010 03 — 6 10 1
Sebasticook Val. 200 010 00 — 3 7 4
Sudbeck, Applebee (8) and Greener; Perry, Rice (7) and Hartsgrove
Brewer 000 701 1 — 9 11 3
Bangor 130 000 1 — 5 4 2
Andrews, Cyr (5), McLaughlin (6) and Duncan; Cowperthwaite, Cammack (4), Tappan (4), Grass (5) and Grass, Crichton (4)
