WESTBROOK – The nickname “Blue Blazes” is an appropriate one for the Westbrook baseball team this season, as they have come out of the gate on fire as the Blazes look to capture the Class A state championship.

Westbrook ran its record to 5-0 on Monday as the team traveled to Gorham and shut out the Rams (1-4), 4-0. The run output was actually low for Westbrook, as the team has outscored its opponents 43-3 this season, posting four shutouts. Two offensive explosions inflate that runs scored statistic, as the Blazes blew past Noble 23-0 on April 26 and then blanked Sanford 14-0 on April 30. Massabesic is the only team to score on Westbrook this season, plating three runs in a 4-3 loss on April 28.

The game against Gorham was a tight one as Ram starter Mike Arsenault held the powerful Blazes’ lineup to just four hits, keeping them off the scoreboard until a four-run seventh inning rally lifted Westbrook to the win.

Sean Murphy picked up his second win of the season for Westbrook, striking out four while pitching a three-hit complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits.

Westbrook broke the game open in the final inning, as the Rams committed three errors in the seventh that allowed the Blazes to finally generate some offense. Zach Gardiner and Jake Gardiner each had an RBI single in the inning and Trevor Bates drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

The Rams came into the game with Westbrook on a two-game losing streak, the last loss coming to Biddeford 10-3 on Saturday afternoon.

Biddeford starting pitcher Nate McKeown gave up a lone run to begin the first, but celebrated with his teammates as the Tigers leapt back into the driver’s seat in the bottom half of the inning, as the Tigers touched Gorham starter Damon Wallace for five runs.

The Tigers rallied again in the third, pushing their lead out to 8-1. Biddeford worked out of loading the bases twice in the top of the fifth, only surrendering two runs in the process, hanging on for the win.

“We came out after a poor showing offensively in our last game, and the kids rose to the occasion,” said Biddeford Head Coach Casey Roy. “We asked them to come out with a little more intensity today, and they came right out of the gate and got some runs for us early. Sometimes, once you get up with a big lead, it’s kind of common in baseball to sit back and kind of watch things happen. But a couple of innings later, they went back to work and got us a few more, and we just kept them down as much as we could.”

Things were a little shaky for McKeown from time to time, and he looked a bit frazzled in the first, walking Gorham senior shortstop Steve Broy. Broy would take second when McKeown fielded a soft grounder back to the mound, then jogged to third on a passed ball. Gorham took a 1-0 lead when senior catcher Brendon Joyce grounded to short and Broy came home, but a batter later, senior Mike Arsenault popped out to center and McKeown trotted off the mound.

The Tigers wasted little time in starting their rally. Following a Scott Callahan pop out to short, senior Chris Jones blooped to a little shot into left, then advanced to second on a line drive by Tyler Audie. Jones came home when senior Taylor Reuillard crushed a double to the wall in left – the first of a pair of two-baggers he hit in the game – and Biddeford took a 3-1 lead when sophomore Patrick Wilson popped a ball down the right field like that Gorham outfielder Mark Ridgeway couldn’t pull in.

“That’s been an issue for us this year – just being tight defensively,” said Gorham Head Coach Chuck Nadeau. “We don’t have pitchers that are going to strike a lot of people out. So when we extend innings, it’s a big advantage for the other team. We’ve just got to find the right combination of people to play defense and just shorten innings.”

Biddeford quickly added two more runs as Nick Gagne lined one up the middle that brought in Wilson, and Gagne later came home on a passed ball.

McKeown set the Rams down in order in the second, and later worked his way out of the third even after allowing a few Gorham runners to reach. The Tigers added three more in the bottom half of the inning, as Wilson lined to short, but was safe when Broy bobbled the ball. Gagne walked, and with men on first and second, senior Michael Vadnais punched a ground ball into right and Wilson came home. It was 7-1 after Arsenault made a throwing error from third allowing Josh Aube to safely reach first, and 8-1 after a ground ball hit by Callahan leapt over Arsenault’s glove.

“Even though we were down, we told the kids that we were going to try to stay aggressive and try to steal some bases and create some offense,” Nadeau said. “But that’s the other part of the story, in that we didn’t answer in generating our own offense.”

Gorham’s one big chance to jump back into the game came in the fifth when, now down 9-1, Ridgeway beat out a throw to first on a ground ball. He’d later steal second, and with one out, sophomore Chris Hardy knocked a grounder into center field. McKeown hit the next batter, and suddenly Gorham had the bases loaded with just one away.

Junior Cory Greenleaf entered the game in relief for the Tigers, and quickly got an out by forcing Zach Speirs to ground to third, although a run came home. Greenleaf walked Arsenault to load the bases once more, gave up a ground ball to short that was bobbled to bring another man in, but avoided a bigger inning for the Rams when he got Alex Owens to pop out.

Gorham will try to right the ship with a road game at Marshwood on May 5 at 4 p.m. and will return home to take on Scarborough on May 7 at 1 p.m.

Westbrook will clash with Bonny Eagle at home on May 5 at 4 p.m. and then will head to Kennebunk to face the Rams on May 7 at 3 p.m. The Blazes will also travel to Saco to take on Thornton Academy on May 10 at 4 p.m.

Sports Reporter Emory Rounds contributed to this report.

Scott Heath went 1-3 as Westbrook ran its record to 5-0 on the season with a 4-0 win over Gorham on Monday. (Staff photos by Emory Rounds)