CAPE ELIZABETH – Rob Macdonald kept himself in the right frame of mind.
Friday, in the Cape Elizabeth baseball team’s 5-1 win over York, the junior pitcher allowed only one hit to help the Capers remain undefeated.
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But after the win, when told he allowed only one hit, Macdonald was taken aback.
“I didn’t know that, wow,” Macdonald said. “You don’t really say anything so you don’t jinx it. But my curveball was great. It hasn’t been my ‘up’ pitch so far this season but I felt like I commanded it well, and also my fastball.”
Macdonald’s efficient pitching, combined with his team’s efficient hitting, helped the Capers win a Western Maine Conference game at Holman Field.
“It was a quick game,” said Macdonald, who struck out five and had two hits. “Efficient, I guess that’s the word that would come to mind. I guess that we just got the job done.”
Macdonald allowed only five runners and the Capers (9-0) sent a combined 14 batters to the plate in the second and third innings.
But Macdonald didn’t just credit his team’s hitting for its success against York (5-3) and its success this season.
“I think we’re a really good unit,” Macdonald said.
“We’re really good at all aspects of the game and we work together, really hard. You can’t win ballgames just with the bats, and I think we have that.”
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Chris Cole singled to drive in Paddy Murphy, who reached on an error.
“They were solid,” said Cole, who had York’s only hit. “They didn’t make mistakes. They were able to make the routine plays and we were just hitting them right at them.”
Cape responded in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs on a pair of hits, including Ezra Wolfinger’s single that drove in Macdonald for the go-ahead run.
An inning later, the Capers took a 4-1 lead on three hits and chased starter Ryan Schoff, who faced three batters in the third before he was replaced by Sam Leal.
“We’ve got a lot of bats in our lineup and pretty much 1 through 9, we can really hit the ball,” Macdonald said. “So I knew it was just a matter of time before we got on their pitcher. Most of the games we’ve gotten out to a nice, early lead, but it’s always important to battle back in whatever situation. I think this year we’ve done that really well.”
Cape added a run in the sixth when Kyle Piscopo drove in Derek Roberts, who was pinch running for Wolfinger, who finished 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI.
“They’re a good team, and coming in they were 8-0, and they’ve played us tough every year,” Cole said. “You can’t win games scoring one run. We hit the ball but we just hit it right at them. We’ll get it eventually.”
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com
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