Gorham’s Ben Nelson, Jason Komulainen and Kenny Tuttle all crossed home in the fifth inning of the team’s quarterfinal matchup at Falmouth last Thursday, the 11th, hacking into the Yachtsmen’s five-run lead. They couldn’t regain that momentum in either the sixth or the seventh, however, and succumbed 5-3 in the end.

“We’re proud of our kids, no doubt about it,” said Gorham head coach Chuck Nadeau. “Falmouth played well today, had some opportunities and took advantage of them. We tried to do the same, and put a little bit of pressure on them. But they did a good job holding us off.”

Komulainen took a pitch in the body to begin the fifth, and trotted onto base. Tuttle and Nelson both singled then, loading the bases. Jordan Ward next singled to bring Komulainen home; Tuttle and Nelson scored on Andrew Schmidt’s at-bat.

The Rams’ momentum soon ground to a halt on a tough turn of events. An offensive interference call on a Gorham runner at second resulted in a double-play to end the inning. Perhaps a bit deflated, the Rams couldn’t find the same groove again before the game ended.

“The rule is, you have to slide or make an attempt to get out of the way,” Nadeau said. “At second base, [Falmouth] was trying for a double play, and there was a question of whether or not our runner made an attempt to get out of the way.”

“The umpires in this league do a good job,” said Nadeau. “No doubt it was a tough call, in the situation. I don’t know if it was the right call or the wrong call, but we don’t have any issues with the umpires.

“And ultimately, this came down to Falmouth taking advantage of more opportunities than we did.”

Nelson, Ward and Gerek Brown each went 2-4 in the loss, which dropped the Rams to 9-9 on the year and eliminated them from postseason contention.

No. 10 Gorham can hold their heads high, though. They improved during the course of the regular season, and played their best ball as their schedule drew to its close. They shocked No. 3 South Portland 1-0 to slide into the playoffs, then captured a second major upset against No. 5 TA in the prelims.

“We made a really nice run at the end of the season,” said Nadeau. “We were 2-6 at one point, so for the kids to stay committed and focused and play as well as we did down the stretch, to get here, was a nice accomplishment.

“I’m not going to lie to you; we’re disappointed. We felt like, at this point, we were playing as well as anybody.”

Gorham pitcher Logan Drouin hurls a ball toward home plate in the Rams’ 5-3 quarterfinals loss to Falmouth.Gorham first baseman Andrew Schmidt waits on an incoming throw from the mound as a Falmouth runner dives back to the bag.Gorham’s Jason Komulainen leads off first in the Rams’ quarterfinals bout versus Falmouth last Thursday; Yachtsman baseman Colby Emmertz covers the bag.Kenny Tuttle heads home for Gorham as, in the background, teammate Ben Nelson slides into third.