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Bucks outlast Blue Devils once again

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Created on Sunday, 21 August 2011 23:41

Written by Administrator

The Bucks got a taste of déjà vu on Tuesday, besting Williamstown 3-1 in a home semi-final matchup for the second year in a row to set up a shot at a third straight D-IV title.

“They’ve been some good baseball games,” Blue Mountain coach Scott Blood said. “The biggest thing for me is, we all have off days. We made mistakes, they made mistakes, but the guys found a way to win and that’s all that matters.”

Almost exactly a year ago the Bucks walked into the bottom of the seventh inning down by a run against the Blue Devils. A two-run walk-off homer by graduate Joe Desroches sent them to the win and eventually their second title in a row. But on Tuesday, history wasn’t going to just take sides.

Senior Mitch St. Onge took the mound for Williamstown, reprising his role as the ace who kept the Bucks’ bats nearly quiet for almost seven innings a year ago. Tuesday it was more of the same. Blue Mountain managed five hard-earned hits against the hurler, who struck out six and walked three.

“I certainly tip my cap to Williamstown and their pitcher. He really mixed his spots well and kept us off balance,” Blood said.

This year it wasn’t a late blast that lifted the bucks to the title game, it was the timely hitting. Throw in the well-balanced combination of starter Kyle Farquharson and Brandon Flood, and the Bucks stuck it out to the very end.

Damian Smith was the man to get things going early, driving in Flood in the first after the then second baseman reached on an error. The Blue Devils tallied five miscues in the ballgame, eventually having a lasting effect on the final outcome.

Farquharson cruised through three innings, eventually running into trouble with no outs in the fourth. Two walks and a single loaded the bases, which brought on Flood to try to clear the Bucks out of the jam. The senior fanned the first two batters he faced, but Kyle Gerrish blooped an infield single to score the Blue Devils’ lone run that tied the game. Flood allowed just one more hit in his four innings or work, striking out seven and issuing zero walks.

The Bucks bounced right back, scoring a single tally in the bottom of the inning after a one-out Eddie Soucie double. Dan Smith smacked an RBI single, and Blue Mountain was back on top for good. Soucie and Dan combined for four of the five Blue Mountain hits, each picking up their second knocks in the sixth before Soucie was saddled home on a Nick Gordon sac-fly.

Seth Atherton reached on a one-out error in the final frame, but Flood made sure Williamstown didn’t work some of their own late-inning magic in shutting down the final two batters with a groundout and a strikeout.

The #1 Bucks will be primed to face off against North Country neighbor Danville in the title game, with the date and time more than likely scheduled for sometime during the weekend. An official time will be announced over the course of the day on Wednesday.

The third-seeded Indians rallied from a 4-0 deficit to upset #2 South Royalton 5-4 on the road Tuesday. The Tribe has had its fair share of close ballgames this season, splitting the series with Blue Mountain on one-run contests over the course of the spring.

“They are certainly a team who you have to play at the top of your ability to beat,” Blood said.

The last postseason meeting between the two teams came in the 2007 title game, in what was Danville’s most recent championship season. While the Indians look to get back on top, the Bucks will be fighting just as hard to stay there with a shot at three in a row.

“Danville has a strong lineup throughout. One through nine we know they can hit the ball. I anticipate a down to the wire game,” Blood added.

Williamstown…0 0 0 1 0 0 0 – 1 R 4 H 5 E

Blue Mtn……....1 0 0 1 0 1 X – 3 R 5 H 1 E

WP – B. Flood

LP – M. St. Onge