Baseball
11-year-old All Stars win three in a row
York's 11-year-old All Star Baseball Team is all smiles after three wins in a row within the past week.
Courtesy photo
YORK - This group of 11-year-old Little Leaguers managed by Marcus Darby and assisted by Kevin Farrell started their season last week with a win against Old Orchard Beach, followed by a tough loss against Saco.
The team rebounded Friday night against Kennebunk, winning 10-5.
Evan McElwain as starting pitcher, with Alex Mercurio catching, held off many batters and was assisted with great defense by Thomas Kinton in centerfield, Tanner Robinson at third and Mitchell Benoit at shortstop.
Doubles by James McCafferty and Hayden Webster in the second inning and a triple by Mitchell Benoit tied up the game 3-3.
Bailey McKenna's speed in pinch running tied the game 4-4 when he stole third base and an interference call sent him home in the fifth inning. Kinton hit a single to drive Robinson home in the fifth inning and started a big hitting rally to end the inning at 9-4.
Saturday night's game vs. West Biddeford ended with another win for York, with a final of 5-1.
Starting pitcher Josh Donohoe was superb on the mound, pitching all six innings in the heat. Mercurio caught for Donohoe and also scored the only homerun of the night.
McElwain and Robinson were great offensively and stolen bases by Kinton and Tim Gauthier helped run up the score for York.
In the field, McCafferty, Matt McKinley and Peter Carley held back West Biddeford from scoring, and Webster played a great game at first base. Robinson made a great diving catch at third to fire up the team!
Sunday night at 5:30 p.m., the boys played the tough team from Sanford. Energized from the two prior wins, the boys rallied with a huge 12-9 victory.
Pitching from Luke Claflin, Benoit and Mercurio was strong against a hard-hitting group of boys.
Defensively, Claflin played left field, McKenna caught a solid line to center, and Benoit and Robinson played great at shortstop and third base.
A double from McElwain drove in Gauthier and McKenna to reach seven runs. Donohoe also hit a huge double, McKinley singled and that along with several walks by Carley, Gauthier and Mercurio brought in the runs for a great victory.
The team was heading to Sanford for one last night on Monday, where York was hoping to shut down the undefeated Saco team and go on to the state division at the end of the month.
Game details were not available as of press time.
