Jordan Ward scored Trent Bassingthwaite in the first and Dylan Turner in the third to put Gorham ahead of Portland 2-0 at Hadlock Field Saturday evening – but the Bulldogs bit back in their next at-bats, pounding home four of their own to seize the lead. The Rams couldn’t keep up with Portland’s newfound fight, and ultimately fell 7-3.

The road loss dropped Gorham to 0-4 in 2014; Portland’s win inched them forward to 2-1.

Gorham head coach Charlie Nadeau nodded at the competition. “They did a good job, getting a couple runners on base. We’ve had a hard time making big plays to stay out of big innings. They’re not necessarily errors; we’re not making plays it seems like other guys are making against us. We’re extending innings.”

Bassingthwaite walked to first to start the game. By the time Ward stepped into the box, three batters later, Bassingthwaite had snuck around to third, so when Ward popped a short ball – and arrived safely on first, thanks to a Bulldogs error – Bassingthwaite zipped home for a quick 1-0.

Both teams clammed up offensively then – until the third anyway, when Turner ripped a shot that just grazed the leaping shortstop’s outstretched glove before sinking into left. Turner stopped at first, but stole second early in Andrew Schmidt’s at-bat, and gained third when Schmidt grounded a single of his own into left. Ward followed with another single – this one to center – giving Turner home and the Rams a 2-0 advantage.

That’s when the Bulldogs woke up and started sniffing about for runs – and dug a bunch up. Portland’s Ryan Dixon grounded past Gorham third-baseman Jesse Leavitt; Rams shortstop Logan Drouin snatch up the ball in shallow left, but couldn’t turn and throw in time, and Dixon got first.

Travis Godbout singled into left, bumping Dixon to second, and Evan Gillette fired into center, shuffling everyone forward – Dixon all the way home, for 2-1. Joe Apon and Joe Fusco next nailed back-to-back doubles deep, Dan Kane singled a bouncy grounder and Ryan Ruhlin walked.

“We’re not making plays that are just getting by people,” Nadeau said. “We’re not getting good enough jumps on balls. We have a lot of inexperienced kids, kids playing in new spots. We’re getting better every day and we’ve just got to keep working at it.

“But right now, our pitching staff is probably catching too much at the plate; we’re giving up big hits after we don’t make big plays. So we’re extending innings. Our problem has been big innings.”

By the time the dust settled on the third, the Bulldogs had pulled ahead 5-2, and weren’t about to look back. They notched another in the fifth and one more in the sixth, setting the final tally, 7-2.

Gorham starting pitcher Matt LeClair tosses a few warmup balls.Rams second baseman Eric Komulainen whips a pass towards first.Matt LeClair fouls off a pitch during a Gorham at-bat.Andrew Schmidt makes the play at first just ahead of the Portland runner.Dylan Turner grabs the throw home just as the Portland runner draws near. Turner tagged his man out.Gorham’s Eric Komulainen beats the 5-3 throw.