It’s been a long season for the Brunswick High School baseball team.
Tuesday’s clash against “Battle of the Bridge” rival Mt. Ararat gave the Dragons a chance to end their season on a positive note and spoil Senior Day festivities in Topsham.
“Winning is great, but the best part about today is they earned it from start to finish,” Brunswick coach Luke Potter said. “They hustled, they played hard, they wanted it. They knew what they wanted out of this and they got it.”
The Dragons (3-13) gave Larson a 2-0 lead to work with heading into the bottom of the first, but Mt. Ararat (7-9) pushed right back. After two infield base hits by Cam Cox and Nick Merrill and a throwing error at first base, Harper Moutal came up and drove a double into the gap to even the score.
“It was a nice hit,” Larson said of Moutal’s double. “I just figured two runs, it’s 0-0 still (2-2). Just throw strikes and if I throw strikes, I know I have a defense behind me.”
The right-hander did just that after the bumpy first frame and found his groove quickly. Larson tossed four 1-2-3 innings in a row before reaching the sixth, where a walk was followed up with two strikeouts. In the seventh, he closed out the game in four batters while fanning his 11th Eagle of the day. Moutal’s two-RBI double was just one of two hits to leave the infield for Mt. Ararat.
“Larson,” Mt. Ararat coach Bob Neron said of the game’s difference. “He shut us down. He’s pitched us tough two times now. What more can you say — you tip your hat to him and you move on. I thought he was the difference in the game.”
“There’s no question that he deserves it,” Potter said of his starter. “He’s given us his best every time out there. He’s had to work hard for it at times and these last couple starts he’s looked good — it’s been fluid, it’s been easy and he deserves a ‘W’ in a long and difficult season.”
Bats come alive
Mt. Ararat sophomore starter Kaileb Hawkes ran into trouble early on, giving up four bases-on-balls and walking in two runs in the top of the first. He settled down after the eight-batter frame, tossing three clean innings before Brunswick struck again in the fifth.
Will Bessey was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Elias Henze earned a second walk that took Hawkes out of the game after 94 pitches. On just the second pitch of his at-bat against reliever Garrett Moody, Zack Grant singled to bring home Bessey, who had stolen second and advanced to third on a grounder.
Larson also had himself a game at the plate, going 2- for-4 with a double down the left-field line in the sixth. Cam Dunton singled at the top of the order to bring Larson home, making the score 4-2. Alan Molnar earned the Dragons’ fifth RBI in the final frame, singling to bring home Henze, who beat out a swinging strikeout and advanced two bases before crossing home.
“It’s just always nice to get the win against Mt. Ararat,” Larson said. “It’s big to come out on their Senior Night and hit the ball and find contact — we finally found our bats.”
“It’s too bad that it’s today and we don’t have another one after this,” Potter said of the bats coming to life. “But it’s still mentally something we can take with us into the next season.”
Bessey scored both times he reached base for the Dragons, while Josh Goddard hit a long single into the gap, and Thomas Hanson scored a run in his final game in the Brunswick athletic program.
On the other side, the Eagles struggled to reach base, with Hunter Lohr’s seventh-inning single off the bench being their first base hit since the opening frame. Cox and Merrill each scored after reaching base safely on Larson’s first trip through the lineup.
Mt. Ararat, which will be making its first playoff appearance since 2009, will scrimmage Lisbon on Friday at home to prepare for the KVAC postseason. Neron said he his trying to organize another warm-up game for Saturday, but he also wants to keep his young arms preserved. Despite the loss on Tuesday, the Eagles gave their coach a regular season to be proud of.
“It’s had its ups and downs,” Neron said. “When you consider where we were last year (1-15) starting all those freshmen. We’ve been starting six sophomores most of the year this year. Like most young players, they’re inconsistent, but I believe in these guys and I’m behind them all the way. The best is yet to come, I think.”
Brunswick 5, Mt. Ararat 2
Tuesday, at Mt. Ararat High School
| Brunswick | — | 200 | 011 | 1 | — | 5-9-1 | |
| Mt. | Ararat | — | 200 | 000 | 0 | — | 2-4-0 |
Alex Larson and Alan Molnar; Kaileb Hawkes, Garrett Moody (5) and Cam Cox. Doubles — (B) Alex Larson; (MtA) Harper Moutal. Repeat Hitters — (B) Alex Larson. Records — Brunswick 3-13, Mt. Ararat 7-9. Up next for the Eagles — Class A North playoff game, date, time and site TBA. Note — Brunswick’s season is completed.
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