Zach Murray’s seventh-inning single drove home the go-ahead run as Bangor Coffee News stayed alive in the American Legion Northeast Regional Baseball Tournament with a 6-3 victory over Rochester, New Hampshire, at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon.
The victory advances the Maine champions, 20-7 overall and 2-1 in the double-elimination regional, to a 10:30 a.m. game Saturday against Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, 2-0 and scheduled to play Braintree, Massachusetts, in a winner’s bracket game Friday night.
Bangor Coffee News, which trailed 3-1 after Rochester scored three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning, will finish no worse than fourth in the eight-team event that concludes Sunday while the New Hampshire champions finished with a 1-2 tourney record.
“It was a gutsy performance by everyone,” said Comrades’ head coach Dave Morris. “We got behind and lot of teams in that situation really could have fallen apart but our veteran guys did a good job of staying in the moment and we got great leadership from all of our guys.
“We just chipped away and got some big plays defensively and offensively.”
Comrades’ righthander Jesse Colford improved his postseason pitching record to 4-0, yielding six hits and no earned runs over eight innings with six strikeouts, no walks and two hit batsmen.
“Jesse pitched one of the best games he’s pitched and really put us in a position to win it,” said Morris. “I think he was working at an even faster tempo than he normally does and he was really pounding the strike zone.
“They were a good team, their one through five batters were tough. They fouled off a lot of pitches, they kind of grinded us out and their plan of attack was working but Jesse just kept pounding the zone.”
Noah Missbrenner came on to pitch the ninth inning for Bangor and earned the save after yielding an unearned run.
Murray’s third hit of the game was one highlight of Bangor Coffee News’ three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh that came with Rochester clinging to a 3-2 advantage.
No. 9 batter Ryan Brookings ignited the uprising with a leadoff double down the left-field line, then advanced to third base on Ethan Stoddard’s one-out single.
Rochester starter Matt White retired the next batter before Missbrenner singled to right to drive home Brookings with the tying run and Murray doubled to left to plate Stoddard and give Bangor a 4-3 edge.
That marked the end of the day for White, who scattered 10 hits and allowed three earned runs while striking out four batters and walking two over 6 ⅔ innings.
Brody Ashley came on in relief, and Missbrenner stole home to give the Comrades a two-run cushion as Murray — who got the start at second base with Colford on the mound — got caught in a rundown between first and second bases on a delayed steal attempt.
“Zach’s been hitting the ball and today he sat on that fastball,” said Morris. “Sometimes you get in these tournaments and you have to find the guys who are hot, and he’s an example of a great team player.”
Bangor Coffee News padded its lead with a two-out run in the bottom of the eighth as Nick Canarr tripled to right and scored when Brookings followed with his second double in as many innings, this time to center field.
Murray’s three hits paced Bangor Coffee News’ 12-hit attack while Brookings, Stoddard, Missbrenner and Zach Cowperthwaite added two hits apiece.
Bangor Coffee News jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Murray led off with a single to right-center and took second base on a wild pitch. Zach Ireland then walked and Ben Crichton sacrificed the runners to second and third before Murray scored on Canarr’s RBI groundout to shortstop.
Rochester scored three runs in the top of the sixth after loading the bases with two outs as Logan LaRochelle reached on an error and Drew Nicholson and Shaun Cormier were both hit by pitches.
Brian Lindsay then cleared the bases with a double to center field, and suddenly the New Hampshire champs had a 3-1 advantage.
Bangor Coffee News got one run back in the bottom of the sixth. Missbrenner reached on an error and Murray singled to left. Missbrenner moved to third base on Crichton’s one-out fielder’s choice that forced Murray out at second, and an error by White then enabled Missbrenner to score and narrow the Comrades’ deficit to one run.
