One big inning was all it took for Conant to put Mascenic away during last Wednesday’s rivalry baseball game. In the fifth, the Orioles were the first to plate a run, after starting pitcher Corbin Sasner reached on an error and Caleb Donahue doubled him in with a liner to left off Scott Humphrey. Kyle Dupuis quickly did his job, sacrificing to drive in Donahue.
Up 2-0 with Ryan Smith, James Record and Chance Kirby on base, senior slugger Craig Bilodeau strode to the plate, and a knowing murmur rippled through the crowd. It was the last place Mascenic wanted to be and exactly where Conant thrives. Bilodeau took a first-pitch ball and then mashed a tater out nearly to the field hockey field for a grand slam.
That was the sum of Wednesday’s scoring, as Sasner shut out the Vikings for six innings before Dupuis closed it out for a 6-0 Conant victory.
Conant kept on rolling through the rest of the week’s schedule. Another big inning against Stevens put the Cardinals away, as Conant scored nine in the first on Friday. Troy Aho went five strong, allowing one earned run before giving way to Dupuis. Shawn Marsh drove in three runs on a double, and Record and Smith drove in two apiece.
The Orioles got up early on Saturday to make up the remainder of their game against Kearsarge, suspended due to rain the previous Friday. The 1 p.m. start time was no problem for the Orioles, who came into the game already up 5-1 and proceeded to pile it on, scoring again in the third and six more times in the fourth to pull off a 12-1 win.
Bilodeau doubled and drove in three runs, and Aiden Kirby and Record drove in two each.
Mascenic didn’t take long to bounce back from their loss to Conant. The Vikings had Hillsboro-Deering on Friday and had little trouble coming to a 6-0 shutout win.
Chase Holombo struck out eight in the complete game win. Cooper Wayrynen went 2-3 and scored twice, and Drew Rines drove in two.
Conant and Mascenic will complete their season series at Conant on Wednesday afternoon, as the teams face off at 4 p.m. at Humiston.
Sports Editor Ben Conant can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 226 or bconant@ledgertranscript.com.