BANGOR, Maine — Alex Applebee couldn’t have been in a more pressure-packed spot on Tuesday night at the Senior League World Series.
With starter Casey Sudbeck having been lifted after exceeding the pitch count at 96, Applebee took the ball. Maine District 3 champion Bronco-Hermon clung to a one-run lead with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of its game against the U.S. West team from Central East Maui, Hawaii.
Applebee induced a hard-hit ball to shortstop Zach Nash, who turned a 6-3 double play to secure Maine’s 3-2 victory and a spot in the semifinal at 8 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Latin America champ Carolina, Puerto Rico and Asia-Pacific champ Melbourne, Australia.
The play set off a wild celebration both on the field at Mansfield Stadium and in the standing-room-only crowd made up mostly of Bronco-Hermon fans.
“[Manager Matt Kinney] just told me keep my head in it, throw strikes, get the job done,” said Applebee, who had committed an error on a potential game-ending ground ball only two batters earlier.
“I was trying to turn it just a little too quick. I went to throw it before I fielded it and bobbled it,” he explained.
Hawaii plays U.S. Southeast of Dunfries, Virginia, at 8 p.m. Wednesday. U.S. Central champ Clear Ridge Little League of Chicago faces the winner of that game in Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal.
“These guys have put themselves in some tough positions and come out on the right side of it,” Kinney said. “We hope we can keep it going.”
Sudbeck pitched 6⅓ innings, giving up only five hits and two unearned runs. He struck out four and walked four.
However, Central East Maui chased him in the tense seventh.
Haoa Jarnesky singled to left to start it, then Kepa Supnet reached on the one-out fielding error. Sudbeck walked Jyra Lalim to load the bases.
“I had to mix it up,” Sudbeck said. “I knew they were a good-hitting team, so I tried to throw all my pitches.”
Applebee came on and fell behind 2-1 to Anthony Tuionetoa, whose hard grounder went right to Nash to the left of the bag to start the double play.
“I’ve never played in front of a crowd that big and I’ve also never played in front of a crowd that was that into it,” said Bronco-Hermon’s Alex McKenney, who hit a key RBI double in the third.
“You could hear them all game long. I think that really played on our side, because it was for us, 95 percent of the fans. You could definitely feel the energy and it was momentum the whole game,” he added.
The Maine squad scratched out six hits, including singles by Applebee and Sudbeck in its fifth-inning, go-ahead rally.
Jacob Chong pitched well in defeat with two strikeouts and no walks. Two of the three runs were unearned. Drayer singled twice for Hawaii.
Bronco-Hermon grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning without benefit of a hit. Nick Robidoux was hit by a pitch with one out and moved up on a groundout that featured a nifty glove flip to first by Hawaii second baseman Tuionetoa.
Rece Poulin delivered the run when his popup toward the third-base line was dropped by the shortstop.
Bronco-Hermon made it 2-0 in the third. Sudbeck was hit by a pitch with two outs, then raced all the way home from first base when McKenney lashed an opposite-field double toward the right-field line.
Central East Maui, Hawaii, rallied to tie it in the fourth. Waylon Bacos hit an infield single, then Drayer got aboard on a slow-hit single toward the second-base bag.
With one out, Dalton Mata laid down a sacrifice bunt to the mound, but Sudbeck’s toss to third base was dropped, loading the bases. Jarnesky worked a walk to force in the first run, before Chung delivered a sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-2.
Bronco-Hermon went back in front in the fifth, again aided by a miscue. Applebee beat out a two-out, infield single and Sudbeck hit a shallow pop fly to left.
The left fielder was unable to make a sliding catch as Applebee raced toward third and his throw toward third missed the mark, allowing Applebee to score the eventual winning run.
The semifinal winners meet for the title at 2 p.m. Saturday.