DEXTER– Jacob Bickford pitched a complete game four-hit shutout and had two hits of his own to lead the Dexter Tigers to a 2-0 win over Central on Friday afternoon.
Bickford needed only 79 pitches/52 strikes to get through his seven innings. Bickford struck out four, with no walks and two hit batters.
The only scoring came in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Tigers got two unearned runs against Red Devils pitcher Caleb Shaw.
The inning started with Shaw retiring the first two batters. With two outs, Brayden Miller hit a single. Bickford followed with a bloop double to right field.Matt Hanscome followed with a ground ball that Central third baseman Dakota Miller wasn’t able to handle. Brayden Miller and Bickford came around to score.
Shaw threw 67 pitches/48 pitches in his six innings. Shaw allowed only three hits and one walk on three strikeouts.
Dexter had a great chance to score in the second inning. With Bickford at third base and one out, Matt Richards hit a grounder to third, Dakota Miller grabbed it and gunned down Bickford as Red Devils catcher Andrew Speed made a nice tag at the plate.
The Red Devils had a chance in the third inning. With runners at first and third, Speed drilled one, but Tigers center fielder Zach White made the catch in front of the fence. Central had another chance in the fifth inning, with two runners in scoring position, Bickford got a called strike three against Gage Poulin.
Bickford retired the side in order to close the game in the seventh inning. Dexter (4-3) will start a four game week with a game at Penquis on Monday. Eastern Maine Sports will have live audio coverage of George Stevens at Dexter on Friday, May 19th at 4:20 PM.
Speed and Ethan Mailman each reached base twice for the Red Devils. Central (3-5) will also have a four game week coming up. They will host Mattanawcook on Monday, Bucksport on Tuesday, and Penquis on Wednesday. The Red Devils will finish their week at Bangor Christian on Friday.
