ST. ALBANS — The Addison County American Legion team dropped a road doubleheader to defending Vermont champion Franklin County on Saturday, 7-0 and 7-6, including a painful second-game setback in which host FC scored six times in the bottom of the seventh to rally for the win.
AC dropped to 2-5 heading into a pair of weekend doubleheaders on AC’s home field at Middlebury College. The local nine will host Montpelier for two beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and Colchester for a pair beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday. After those games AC has only one more home contest, vs. OEC on July 20 at 5:30 p.m.
In this past Saturday’s opener Franklin’s Mike Roy tossed a seven-hit shutout, walking none and striking out six. AC starter Adam Whitcomb took the loss, allowing five earned runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings, walking two and fanning five. George Bailey got the final out in the sixth, but not before allowing one run on one hit. Dustin Whitcomb and Chris Wood led the AC attack with two hits apiece.
In the nightcap Franklin took a 1-0 lead after five innings off starter Hunter O’Connor, who went 4.2 innings and allowed just three hits and struck out five, but walked six and left after tossing 100 pitches. Dustin Whitcomb came on and retired five of the next seven batters.
Meanwhile, AC scored three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to take a 6-1 lead. Singles by Jeff Stearns, Cooper O’Brien, Devon Kimball and Bailey helped plate the runs in the sixth, and in the seventh Dustin Whitcomb and Wyatt Cameron singled, Stearns walked, and O’Brien and Bailey singled again to make it 6-1.
But Franklin erupted off Whitcomb in the bottom of the inning for six runs and the win, amassing five singles and a double and taking advantage of one hit batsman and an error. Colby Brouillette did much of the damage, leading off with a single and driving in the winning runs with a walk-off double.