Another Thornton vs. Biddeford classic

SACO — Historically speaking, sophomores aren’t supposed to produce as much as Patrick Wilson has for the Biddeford baseball team.

Typically, a sophomore baseball player might swing between the junior varsity and varsity team, coming in late to pick up some game experience in a blowout.

Wilson has and continued to break those rules on Thursday afternoon, as his bloop single to center field in the top of the ninth inning scored Chris Jones to give the Tigers the lead and the win in a 7-6 victory over its old foe, Thornton Academy.

“I was having a pretty rough day at the plate,” Wilson said. “I was just trying to put a ball in play, see what we could do. I had a pitch in the outside of the plate, tried to put the barrel on the bat and had a little bloop over the shortstop up the middle.”

Wilson continued a stellar season thus far for the Tigers. Entering the game, he led the defending Western Class A champs with a .500 batting average, along with a team-best 10 RBIs and three steals.

And not only did Wilson produce with the bat, he pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief, getting out of tight jams multiple times to pick up the win.

“It was a great game,” Thornton Academy head coach Ray Petit said. “Wilson came in and pitched great for them. He did a great job. A lot of good things happened, and some bad things.”

It seemed certain that the Trojans (3-3) would be on its way to victory after racking up five runs in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead on the Tigers, but Biddeford (5-1) chipped away at the lead, scoring a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Tyler Audie that plated Scott Callahan, and again in the sixth when Nate McKeown scored Nick Gagne on an RBI single, making the score 5-4 heading into the top of the seventh.

Down to its last out, Thornton pitcher Jeff Gelinas hit Wilson with a pitch. Wilson stole second base moments later, then Gagne, on a 2-2 count, smacked a line drive that bounced off the tip of Trojan second baseman Zach Oliviera’s glove into right field, scoring Wilson for the 5-5 tie.

“Gelinas is a great pitcher,” Wilson said. “He keeps you off balance, hits the outside and inside of the plate. The leaders on this team just kept their heads up, kept the bench excited during the game, didn’t get down.”

The game remained tied until the ninth. Due to innings and pitch count, Petit had no choice but to turn to his bullpen, switching to Steve Harmon.

“He was getting around 100 (pitches), a little over 100,” Petit said. “It’s a long season, he’s a sophomore and his health is more important than a win. I know he didn’t want to come out. He’s a competitive guy, but the pitch count was there and it was time for him to go. And it was too bad, because he’s pitched three great games and he’s got nothing to show for it.”

Jones led the inning off with a base hit to center field. He reached second on a wild pitch, and moved to third on a long fly ball out by Audie. Two batters later, Wilson connected on the bloop single to score Jones and take the lead. The Tigers scored Wilson moments later for an insurance run when Gagne smacked an RBI double down the left field line to take the 7-5 lead.

Gagne led the Biddeford offense with a 3 for 5 day at the plate, with two RBIs and a stolen base. Callahan also had three hits for the Tigers, including a double.

The Trojans were in a perfect position to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, when they had runners on first and third with one out after Gelinas already plated catcher Josh Coffin with an RBI single to right field to make the score 7-6. Wilson, however, picked off Oliviera, the would-be tying run, at third, before striking out Jon Dupee to seal the game.

“The play before, I wasn’t really looking at him, but I saw him breaking down the line,” Wilson said. “The next play, I looked at him, he was breaking down the line, and I just picked him off.”

Coffin, also a sophomore, led the Trojans offensively, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the contest.

Wilson stepped into a tight situation when he stepped on the mound in the sixth, getting out of the inning with runners on first and third. He also got out of a jam in the seventh, striking out Dupee with two outs and the bases loaded.

Biddeford gets a break in the schedule and won’t play again until May 10 against Portland. Thornton also has a break, but must gear up for a May 10 contest with Western Class A powerhouse Westbrook.

“There’s really nothing you can say [after the game],” Petit said. “They battled. They were down 2-0 and they responded. We played good defense for a while, but they scrapped and came back. We didn’t finish and they did.”

In the meantime, the Tigers will enjoy the win over its rival.

“We haven’t beat [Thornton] in a couple of years, even in Legion ball,” Wilson said. “They’ve always given us tough games. It’s good to come out of here with a win.”

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