Doris dominant in defeat
Maine downs Upper Deck on sixth-inning squeeze play
WORCESTER – Sean Doris decided to use his last outing of the state tournament in West Warwick last Thursday to motivate himself for a promising start during Upper Deck Post 14’s opening tilt of the American Legion Northeast Regional Tournament at the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon.
“I didn’t pitch very well (against Gershkoff/Auburn Post 20 of Cranston) in the ‘championship game,’” stated the southpaw, who lasted only four frames and yielded six hits, nine runs (two earned) and three walks while fanning one in a 9-5 loss. “I wanted desperately to make up for it.”
The 2017 Lincoln High grad and Lasell College sophomore more than accomplished the goal he had set for himself against Coastal Landscap- ing of Portland, Maine. He scattered only four hits, didn’t walk a batter and whiffed a half dozen in a six-inning outing.
In fact, Doris had a perfect game going through the first 4 1/3, and needed only 65 deliveries in all.
Portland, however, managed to sneak away with a stunning 1-0 triumph over Upper Deck before perhaps
150-200 fans at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, and it came on what could have been a disastrous suicide-squeeze bunt (for the Mainers) in the back half of the sixth.
The state champ sent Jack Lynch to the plate to start the frame, but he fouled out to right fielder Connor Sheehan, who made a superb sliding catch near the wall. Pinch-hitter Luke Hill then notched Portland’s second hit with a grounder up the middle, and Griffin Watson immediately followed with a laced a double to the gap in left-center, pushing Hill to third.
Luc Harrison came to the box and was ordered to lay down a bunt, and he did, but he popped it up to the left of Doris. First baseman Steve Andrews, already playing in, stretched forward to snag the mini-fly, but his glove just missed.
Harrison’s bunt succeeded, Hill scored and the rest was history. Doris struck out Dylan Francoeur, then forced Tim Greenlaw to ground into a fielder’s-choice out, but UD still fell to 21-11-1 overall.
“I left a fastball down the middle and (Watson) cranked it,” Doris ( now 3-5) sighed later. “On the bunt, they teach you as a pitcher to throw directly at the bat, try to let them make the mistake, and (Harrison) did. He popped it up, and Steve was just short of catching it.”
When asked if he’s felt a bit snakebit during his two previous starts, Doris shrugged, then said sadly, “It’s tough having no run support, but I have to say that doesn’t happen very often with this team. They pitched very well and kept us off-balance, so they deserve the credit.
“The thing is, I felt great,” he continued. “We all made sure we went to bed early (on Tuesday) night at the hotel, and I woke up (Wednesday) just wanting to come out and do my job.”
He nevertheless admitted this one stings. The “Deckers” now will face the loser of Rochester, N.H. Post 7 or the tourney host Shrewsbury. Mass. Post 397 today at 12:30 in an elimination clash in Worcester.
“When we met in right field after the game, I just told the kids that it was a great game, a real pitcher’s duel,” noted skipper Matt Allard. “I said that we had squared up some balls, but they were right at somebody. I thought we were great defensively, not making an error. (Addison) Kopack was fantastic at third, earning five assists (and at least two came on key gems), and ‘Dingo’ (Doris) was phenomenal on the mound.
“I told the guys that the bad news was we played great, but gave up a couple of hits, then a fluke bunt that we almost caught and they scored. I also said that we were going to be playing (today) win or lose, so we’ll see what happens then.”
Truth be told, UD deserved a better fate. Righty starter Connor MacDonald collected the first two outs of the contest, but Andrews smoked a single to left-center and Kopack a ground hit to left, giving those sitting on the first-base bench some hope.
Doris, though, grounded out to short to cut short the possible rally.
Tyler McNulty drew a one-out pass in the second, yet Kyle DeLuca grounded into a 4-6-3 twin killing, and MacDonald retired UD in order in the third. He also began the fourth, but manager Dan McCarthy decided to replace him with fellow righthander Jim Sinclair.
In a word, he was brilliant. He retired the first five he faced, four by strikeout, before allowing DeLuca an opposite-field single to left-center in the fifth. And, with one down in the sixth, Connor Sheehan belted a hit to center, then robbed second, but Kopack lined out to second to bring that possible surge to a halt.
Portland actually ruined Doris’ perfect-game, no-hit plans with one out the half frame before. Sinclair lifted what looked to be a bloop foul ball down the right-field line, and Andrews initially seemed to have a beat on it, but turned away, apparently because he lost it in the light, cloudy sky.
It fell for Maine’s first hit, though Doris whiffed Barbeque Yee and Romano lined out to right.
After Portland took the 1-0 cushion, Sinclair notched two quick outs before Tyler McNulty beat out an infield single, then stole second, giving the Rhode Islanders hope. Unusually, McCarthy pulled Sinclair for previous shortstop Watson. DeLuca immediately smoked a line drive, but right at second for the final out.
“(McCarthy) decided to go 45-45 (pitches) with his first two (hurlers), so now he can have them eligible to pitch Friday,” Allard stated. “That’s how a lot of Little League coaches will do it when they want their best guys to remain (active).
“Like I said, Sean was lights out; that was a great, great outing. We just couldn’t get the two or three key hits when we needed them.”
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Upper Deck Post 14 000 000 0 – 0 – 5 – 0 Coastal Landscaping/Portland, Me.000 001 x – 1 – 4 – 0 Sean Doris and Tyler McNulty. Connor MacDonald, Jim Sinclair (4), Griffin Watson (7) and Barbeque Yee. 2B – Watson.