HAMPDEN, Maine — The Hampden Academy baseball team continued its quest for home-field advantage in the upcoming Class A North playoffs with a 5-1 victory over Brewer at Bordick Park on Monday night.
The win improved Hampden, ranked fifth in the division entering the game, to 10-4 and marked the Broncos second win over Brewer in eight days.
Brewer, ranked second as the week began, fell to 11-3.
One common denominator in both Hampden victories over the Witches was the pitching of senior righthander Alex McKenney.
The University of Maine-bound ace, who threw a six-inning one-hitter during a 10-0 victory over the Witches on May 15, allowed just four hits — three of the infield variety — in the rematch while striking out nine, walking one and hitting a batter in a second straight complete-game effort for coach McLean Poulin’s club.
McKenney required just 86 pitches to finish the job, with 61 for strikes as he consistently worked ahead in the count and went to as many as three balls to just two batters.
McKenney outdueled Brewer righthander Alex Brooks, who yielded just four hits and one earned run over five innings before giving way to relieve Jon Wheaton, who worked the bottom of the sixth.
McKenney had two of Hampden’s five hits, a double and an RBI single, and walked in his only other plate appearance. Teammate Brandon Smith singled twice with a run scored and an RBI.
Hampden capitalized on two Brewer errors to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first before adding single runs in the third and sixth innings.
Smith opened the Hampden first with a single to right, then advanced to second as Casey Sudbeck reached on an error before scoring the game’s first run on McKenney’s sharp single down the third-base line.
Sudbeck advanced to second on the play, then scored to make it 2-0 as Andrew Gendreau reached on another infield error.
Max Thomas then worked a nine-pitch walk from Brooks before freshman Gavin Partridge drove home the final run of the inning with a groundout that required a diving stop by Brewer shortstop Kobe Rogerson.
Brewer scored its only run in the top of the third as McKenney endured a momentary control issue, hitting Michael Bailey with a pitch with one out and walking Rogerson before Alex Maxsimic delivered an RBI single to right-center.
McKenney escaped further damage by inducing groundouts from the next two batters to end the inning.
Hampden got that run back in the bottom of the inning as Sudbeck drew a leadoff walk, reached third on two wild pitches and scored when Gendreau singled to right for his team-leading 21st RBI of the spring.
Hampden added an insurance run in the sixth. Partridge drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by Rece Poulin and reached third on an errant pickoff throw before scoring on Smith’s two-out infield hit, a line drive off Wheaton’s glove that was re-directed into the shortstop hole.
Maxsimic singled twice as Brewer’s lone repeat hitter.
