SCARBOROUGH – Scarborough finished the 2012 season 17-3, runners-up for the Class A state title. This year, they return nine enough to fill a lineup and they return hungry.

The Red Storm faced their first challenge of the season Thursday morning, when they hosted Thornton Academy. Scarborough got on the board early, but the Golden Trojans kept the score close for most of the game, even looking like they might rally in the last inning. A Red Storm double play, however, drained Thornton’s momentum and secured Scarborough’s 3-0 victory.

“Ben Greenburg on the mound,” Ryan Jones, first-year head coach for the Red Storm, said of his team’s keys to success. “Pretty dominant performance. And I think our hitters at the plate had really quality at-bats. We saw a lot of pitches – I think [Trojans pitcher] Jeff Gelinas threw over a hundred pitches, and he still looked good, late in the game.”

“We didn’t get a lot of people on base,” Thornton head coach Ray Petit said after the game, “and [Greenburg] is a quality pitcher. Jeff pitched well enough to win; we just didn’t hit today.”

Scarborough’s Aaron Ravin crossed home plate first, when a throw by Gelinas got away from catcher Josh Coffin, giving Ravin the opportunity to steal a run in the bottom of the first. To start the second, Thornton’s Cam Jackman drove a base hit into left field, but teammate Matt Rutherford then grounded them both into a 5-4-3 double play.

The middle innings lurched forward, with hitters knocking balls into the field often enough, but rarely getting on base. Not until the bottom of the sixth did the action really heat up again. Scarborough’s Nick Bagley drove the ball to first, where first baseman Cam Jackman dove, knocking it down. He appeared to have it in his glove, and maybe he did – either way, he couldn’t hold onto it, and Bagley dashed safely onto base.

Greenburg stepped up to bat next. While he took pitches from Gelinas, Bagley stole second – though he didn’t have to, as Gelinas ultimately walked Greenburg, which would’ve given Bagley the extra 90 feet anyway.

Sam Wessel got himself thrown out at first, but all to advance Bagley and Greenburg, who moved to third and second, respectively. Sam Terry next belted a base hit, driving both Bagley and Greenburg home and putting Scarborough on top 3-0.

Trojans Drew Lavigne and Gelinas opened the top of the seventh, Thornton’s last chance to stage a comeback, by looking like the might do just that both banged out base hits. But the Scarborough double-play at third and first halted the rally in its tracks.

Petit approved, overall, of his team’s performance.

“I was happy with them,” he said. “This kid right here [Greenburg] is one of the top pitchers in the league. We were on him – we got three hits. Two of them were infield hits, but we’re not going to change much … I was pretty happy with the way they played. One bad bounce there, and gave two runs; might’ve been a different story there, in the last inning, with a 1-0 game instead of a 3-0 game.”

Jones plans to place added emphasis on pitch selection in upcoming practices.

“We’re going to see everyone’s No. 1 throughout the whole season everyone’s No. 1 pitcher will throw against us,” the Scarborough coach said. “That being said, we’re not going to get a lot of second pitch opportunities to go swing at – it’s really that one pitch, that we’ve got to get, see it out of the hand, and be aggressive on that. Sometimes we tend to take the one good pitch that you see throughout the at-bat, and then you’re forced to go swing at what the pitcher wants you to swing at. Just a little bit of play discipline.”

Scarborough opens the season 1-0, while Thornton goes to 0-1. Jackman and Lavigne both went 1-3 for Thornton, while Hall was 1-3 and Bagley was 2-3 for Scarborough. Gelinas pitched six innings, gave up one earned run and four walks, and struck out 11. Greenburg walked one and struck out eight in seven shutout innings.

Scarborough faces Massabesic at home at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, while Thornton’s next game is at home against Deering, also at 4 p.m. on the 23rd.

Scarborough’s Ben Greenberg trots home late in the game against Thornton Academy Friday morning. Staff photos by Adam Birt
Scarborough’s Nick Bagley steals second against Thornton Academy Friday morning.
Scarborough’s Ben Greenberg hurls a pitch toward home.
Thornton’s Cam Jackman swings at an incoming pitch, while Scarborough catcher Sam Wessel waits to receive the ball.
Scarborough’s Aaron Ravin passes on a low pitch that Trojan catcher Josh Coffin stretches to get his mitt on.
Cam Jackman of Thornton Academy dives at the feet of a South Portland runner.