MIDDLEBURY — The Addison County American Legion baseball team won one of three recent closely contested games and stood at 2-4 entering a four-game homestand that could offer AC a chance to add to its win column.
AC was set to host Montpelier on this past Tuesday night, and Montpelier will visit the Middlebury College field again this Thursday. Next up is a Tuesday doubleheader at home vs. Franklin County, a team that AC earlier defeated on the road.
In recent action, the visiting Colchester Cannons edged AC on June 23, 4-2, and on Sunday AC split a doubleheader with S.D. Ireland played at Champlain Valley Union High School, dropping the opener, 5-4, in nine innings before claiming the nightcap, 6-2.
CANNONS, 4-2
The Cannons nipped AC for the second time in four days on June 23, taking an early 3-0 lead off losing pitcher Wyatt Cameron and hanging on for the 4-2 victory.
The Cannons used two walks, a stolen base and a Tyler Peacock sacrifice fly to score a run in the first, and Cameron hit two batters in the third before Tyler Peacock tripled them home. Cameron allowed just one hit, but three earned runs and four walks in 3.1 innings, striking out one. Bruce Wright relieved for 3.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on a single, an error and another Peacock sacrifice fly in the fifth. Wright allowed just two hits, walked none and struck out one.
AC got a run in the fourth off winning pitcher Jordan Bell on leadoff singles by Greg Whitney and Liam Smith and a Chris Wood sacrifice fly, and added another run in the fifth when Adam Whitcomb reached on an error and Whitney doubled him home. Bell earned the win with six innings of work, allowing four hits and six walks, striking out five. Tyler Lamphere struck out the side in the seventh to earn the save for the Cannons.
SDI, 5-4
Most of Sunday’s opener at CVU was a pitchers’ duel between Whitcomb and SDI’s Hunter Anderson. Whitcomb allowed an unearned run in the third, and AC tied it at 1-1 in the sixth when Dustin Whitcomb reached on an error and scored on two wild pitches.
Things livened up in the seventh, with each team scoring three times. AC used doubles by Smith, pinchhitter Calvin Desforges and Chris Leach to key its rally. But SDI forced extra innings by rallying off George Bailey on an Anderson double and four straight two-out singles.
SDI reliever Liam Reiner allowed one of the runs in the seventh, but tossed two scoreless innings, and Dustin Whitcomb (1.1 innings) took the loss when SDI plated a run in the bottom of the ninth.
AC, 6-2
In the nightcap, Hunter O’Connor tossed a complete-game six-hitter to lead AC to a 6-2 victory. O’Connor walked two and struck out four, and three of the SDI hits and both runs came in the bottom of the seventh, when the home team scored twice after trailing, 6-0.
AC plated four runs in the third to take charge. Cameron reached on an error, Devon Kimball and Dustin Whitcomb singled, Leach doubled, and Adam Whitcomb singled to cap the rally. AC added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth on singles by Adam Whitcomb and Smith, a Patrick Messenger double and a Cameron RBI grounder.