A number of teams are off to good starts a third of the way into a soggy 2005 high school baseball season, but few have found more ways to win than the Winthrop Ramblers.
The young Ramblers are 5-1 and having a lot of fun in the process.
“We’re having a blast,” said coach Marc Fortin.
Outstanding pitching by Chip Burnham (2-1), Corey Gillespie (1-0) and freshman Forrest Dwyer (2-1) got the Ramblers out of the gate quickly, as they tossed three shutouts in four games.
Last Friday, though, it was the bats that picked up the pitching staff. Against Telstar, the Ramblers overcame two-run deficits in both the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game. In the 10th, they came back from a run down and won the game on David Ricker’s RBI single.
“It was all clutch stuff,” Fortin said. “The kids were buzzing after that one.”
Fortin starts three freshmen – Dwyer (first base), Ricker (shortstop) and Ty Cobb (center field), all of whom have made solid contributions so far. Then there’s junior catcher Tavis Hasenfus, an all-conference selection last year who is making things happen with his bat (8-for-14) and legs (14 stolen bases).
The Ramblers face another big test Monday when they face rival Monmouth (7-1), which suffered its first defeat Friday at the hands of Livermore Falls.
Knights in shining armor
Dave Jordan hasn’t had a full team for the first month of his first year as Poland varsity baseball coach. Injuries, ineligibility and college visits have kept various players out of the lineup through the first seven games. Yet the Knights are 6-1 and near the top of the Western Maine Conference standings.
“It’s incredible that they’ve been able to take the attitude of Well, we’ll take what we’ve got and go into the game and we’re going to compete,'” Jordan said.
The Knights showed they could compete with unbeaten Gorham last week, pushing the Rams to extra innings before falling, 5-4. Their wins have come against Fryeburg, Wells, Freeport, Falmouth, Greely and Gray-New Gloucester, teams that were all going deep into the playoffs while the Knights were just getting their program off the ground in the last few years.
Defense and plate discipline have been keys to the Knights’ success so far.
“Our team defense has been incredible,” said Jordan, whose team committed just five errors in their first six games. “And we’ve only struck out 17 times in seven games, and that’s been against some pretty good pitching. We’re putting the ball in play.”
Many expected the Knights to compete in the WMC with senior leaders Max Levine and Alex Smith, but a number of unsung seniors and underclassmen have played important roles. Jordan credited outfielder Stevie Ray and catcher Jeremy Callahan for their work ethic. Infielders Tyler Merchant (sophomore) and Jason Lehr (junior) have had some clutch hits, while junior Keegan Fennessy has pitched effectively as both a starter and reliever.
“He throws strikes and he keeps us in the game until our bats come alive,” Jordan said.
Big games
The Winthrop-Monmouth game is one of several important mid-season contests coming up in the next week. Also on Monday, Mt. Blue travels to Oxford Hills. The Vikings follow that with another marquee match-up on Wednesday when they face unbeaten Mt. Ararat. Oak Hill hosts Winslow on Friday.
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