Big inning lifts Milford Post 23 past Bedford Post 54

BEDFORD – Jake McMaster knew that all he and his Milford Post 23 baseball teammates had to do was be patient and wait for the right moment to come.

They were, and on Wednesday, that moment came in the top of the sixth inning against Bedford Post 54 starter Sam Sylvain.

Milford sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth and scored five times, highlighted by a two-run single by McMaster, and Post 23 held off Bedford’s late push for a 6-5 win in American Legion senior baseball action.

McMaster finished the day 4 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Milford starter Joey Grassett pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts, all in the final four innings.

“(Sylvain) started to get up in pitches, so we tried to jump on him,” McMaster said. “Most of us can hit, we’ve all been hitting. We’ve just been struggling the last couple of games, so it’s good to pick it back up again.”

Milford (8-2 in District A) also got a big game from Bryce Walker, who was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Thomas Bennett, who was 2 for 5 while scoring a run and driving in another.

“We started off sloppy, but we hit the ball and that was where we had success (Wednesday),” Milford coach Ryan Britton said. “We got their pitcher’s pitch count up quite a bit, so that was key, get him out of the game and get to their bullpen. That’s the thing lately, we’ve seen a lot of teams’ aces this year, but if we can get to the bullpen, we’re able to do the damage usually later in the game.”

Sylvain took the loss for Bedford (6-4), allowing five earned runs on 10 hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Mike Kernan pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit while striking out four, and he was also 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI double in the seventh. Matt Gilligan and Ryan Lee also drove in a run each for Post 54.

Through the first five innings, Sylvain was able to keep Milford in check, as Post 23 stranded seven runners. But in the sixth, after Bedford had taken a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Milford’s bats came alive.

Alec Burns led off the sixth with a single and Mason Gaudette was safe on a bunt attempt to put two on with none out. After a popup by JP Record, Grassett walked to load the bases, and Bennett singled to bring in Burns.

McMaster followed with another single, scoring Gaudette and Grassett to give Milford a 4-3 lead, and after Dan Allen popped up for the second out, Walker singled to score Bennett. An error allowed CJ Bilodeau to reach safely, and scored McMaster to make it 6-3, and Sylvain hit Burns to load the bases again.

“(Sylvain) had been throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and they picked up on it,” Bedford coach Tim Conway said. “Three batters in a row jumped on the first pitch and we didn’t make an adjustment. I put it on myself a little bit because I should have gone out there to talk to him.

“We played a great game, we just had a bad two minutes. That’s what it came down to. You take that two minutes away, we’re right where we need to be.”

Kernan came on in relief and struck out Gaudette to end the inning, and Post 54 tried to get the runs right back in the bottom of the inning. Kernan led off with a single and scored on a double by Lee that hit off the left field fence, and the Bedford second baseman advanced to third on the throw home.

Grassett was able to get Andrew Fyfe to pop up for the first out, but Mitch Roy walked and stole second, giving Bedford runners at second and third with one out. Grassett was able to battle back to get out of the inning.

Post 54 made it a one-run game in the seventh, as Gilligan reached on an error with one out, and after Grassett struck out Ryan Linehand, Kernan doubled in Gilligan to make it 6-5. But Grassett struck out Lee looking to end the inning, the start of seven straight retired by the Milford pitcher to end the game.

“He’s one of those groovy pitchers,” Britton said. “He’s not going to blow it by you. He locates and hits his spots, and people just roll over and fly out, or he gets groundballs. He pitches to contact and that’s what makes him so successful.”