Tide leave bases loaded in 9th and loses

OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Baseball can be a game of breaks, and on Thursday night at The Ballpark, they didn’t go the way of the Raging Tide. Seacoast scored two runs in the seventh after a disputed call went in its favor, and the Mavericks hung to a 4-3 win when the Tide left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

The Raging Tide struck first in the bottom of the first. Matt Pagano hit a one-out single and scored two batters later on a double to deep right-center from Fran Whitten. Brian Doran was hit by a pitch to put two runners on, but a fly out ended the inning.

The Mavericks answered right back when Tide starting pitcher Ryan Otero lost his command, as he walked the bases loaded with one out. Chris DelDebbio then singled home two runs on a liner down the third base line. Rob Hogenkamp followed that with a single to right, but Doran gunned down Brett Tenuto at the plate to prevent another run. Mike Mastroberti grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning without any further damage.

The Tide stranded runners in each of the second, third, and fourth innings, and wasted a leadoff single by Pagano in the third.

“It’s tough when you leave guys on, because then you have to start a whole new rally,” said Pagano.

“We stranded a small village,” said Tide manager Chris Torres.

Brad Applin came on in relief of Seacoast starting pitcher Justin Thomas in the fifth and got a 1-2-3 inning ”“ the only one by a Maverick pitcher ”“ but couldn’t replicate that success in the sixth. Doran led off the bottom of the sixth with a bloop single to shallow right on a 3-2 pitch. After back-to-back fly outs, Aaron Wilson took a risk with a bunt, and it worked out as he reached safely. Shane Bussey then doubled down the third base line to tie the game at 2-2. Graham McIntire and Pagano then both drew walks, with Pagano’s walk with the base loaded giving the Tide the lead back. But Applin then struck out Dylan Begin to stop the bleeding and end the inning.

Raging Tide reliever Joey Royer came on for his second inning of work ”“ after striking out the side in the sixth ”“ and got a quick first out by striking out DelDebbio. Hogenkamp then hit a grounder that glanced off Royer’s glove and deflected to Bussey at short, but Bussey couldn’t field it cleanly. Mastroberti sliced a fly ball down the first base line that put Doran on the run and into a slide. Doran couldn’t secure a diving attempt, and the first base umpire ruled it a single. Tide manager Chris Torres argued that the ball landed in foul territory, but to no avail. The play proved costly for the Tide, as Buck McCarthy and James Nervant hit back-to-back RBI singles to turn a one-run lead into a one-run deficit. Seacoast tried to tack on one more run, but Pagano gunned down McCarthy at home trying to score on a single to center by Drew Hacker.

“It’s tough, especially when you know the breaks were bad calls that they didn’t get right,” said Torres. “We as a team has to come above that, rise above the adversity, and win. We had chances. We didn’t come through with it.”

Seacoast sent Josh Jacques to the mound to pitch in the seventh, and he started off the inning by striking out Whitten. But strike three bounced in the dirt and eluded McCarthy the catcher, and Whitten reached first safely. Jacques then walked Doran, but struck out the next three batters, giving him a rare four-strikeout inning.

Jacques walked McIntire with one out in the eighth, but got out of the inning on a fielder’s choice and a fly out.

“He was getting ahead in the count early. And then he had some really good off-speed stuff that we were trying to foul off or we just took for strikes,” Pagano said of what made Jacques effective. “He was hitting his spots.”

The Tide finally figured out the lefty in the bottom of the ninth. Doran drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch with one out. After Jacques picked up his fifth strikeout, C.J. Picerni singled to left on a sinking liner to put two runners on. Aaron Wilson then walked to load the bases for Bussey. But The Tide No. 9 hitter couldn’t replicate the heroics of Monday night, when the Tide won on a walk-off single. Instead, Bussey flew out calmly to left field to end the game.

“We were just one guy short,” said Pagano. “It was a tough game.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 323. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.