AUGUSTA, Maine — Zone 2 champion Pastime had played 22 games during the American Legion baseball season before Thursday and won every single one.
But the side from Lewiston, which also includes players from Lisbon and Monmouth, hadn’t faced Zone 1 champ Coffee News of Bangor — the two-time defending Legion state title winner — in any of those games.
Facing the champs for the first time, undefeated Pastime was humbled, losing 12-0 in eight innings on the second day of the Legion state tournament at Morton Field in Augusta.
The win advances the 20-5 Comrades to a winners’ bracket game at 3:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of a matchup between Yankee Ford of South Portland and Rogers Post of Auburn.
Rogers Post led 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning Wednesday when that game was suspended because of rain. The contest will resume at 10 a.m. Friday.
Pastime will face Skowhegan in an elimination game also at 10 a.m. Skowhegan eliminated Fayette-Staples of Saco 14-2 in seven innings Thursday.
The Coffee News-Pastime game was scoreless and without a hit through three innings.
“Going through it was going to be determined by who would get the first hit and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes,” said Coffee News head coach Dave Morris.
But Pastime’s third error of the game in the top of the fourth led to Coffee News scoring the only run it really needed.
Third baseman Lucas Francis made a diving stop of a two-out grounder, but a throw made while still seated on the ground sailed high, allowing Andrew Hillier to score.
A play in the bottom half of the inning didn’t go Pastime’s way, either.
Gage Cote led off with a single — Pastime’s first hit and baserunner of the game — and tried to return to first after Hunter Landry’s lineout to second with one out but was called out for an inning-ending double play.
Cote and the Pastime dugout were left frustrated by the close call — the second one at first base involving Cote, with both going against him.
The frustrations only continued for Pastime, which didn’t get another hit.
“We didn’t really have it at the plate. I think we got frustrated at the plate, and I think it kind of carried over into our defense,” Pastime coach Jake Brown said. “I think it was uncharacteristic of us. You got to give credit to that pitcher — he pitched well.”
That pitcher was Coffee News right-hander Jesse Colford, who allowed just one hit while striking out 10 batters in six innings. Two walks, a hit batter and an error produced the only other base runners Colford allowed.
“[The game plan] was just to attack them,” said Colford, who also pitched a nine-inning one-hitter during the Zone 1 tournament last Saturday. “Attack them until they proved that they can hit the ball. Just pound the zone and make them make contact.”
“[Colford is] kind of deceiving because he’s a shorter guy, some guys think that his fastball is not as hard,” Morris added. “But he throws pretty hard, and he hits corners, he gets ahead, and literally does a great job of just getting outs. He’s pitched that way all year long. We needed that kind of performance.”
Pastime’s pitchers had a harder time getting outs.
Mitch Davis gave up a leadoff walk to Ryan Brookings in the fifth, and that turned into another run two batters later on a Peter Kemble double. Kemble came around to score on a wild pitch, putting Coffee News up 3-0.
The Comrades added four runs on three walks, an error and a two-run double by Hillier in the sixth, then put the game away in the eighth against Cote, the fourth Pastime pitcher of the day.
Kemble drew a one-out walk and Sam Huston hit a single that was misplayed in the outfield to bring Kemble all the way around to score. Two more walks were followed by three straight singles, and by the time the inning ended four more runs had scored and Coffee News was up 12-0.
Reliever Matt Smith closed out the game for Coffee News with two hitless innings.
Hillier led the Coffee News offense with three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Fournier and Kemble each had two hits apiece as part of an 11-hit attack.
“We saw a lot of fastballs. I think we’re a fastball-hitting team,” Morris said. “It helped seeing those pitches.”