BOX SCORE (Game One)

Yarmouth 5 Cape Elizabeth 1

Y- 031 010 0- 5 7 0
CE- 000 000 1- 1 4 2

Top 2nd
Robichaud singled to left, Sullivan scored. McCosh scored on wild pitch. Gautreau scored on Waeldner’s squeeze bunt.

Top 3rd
Sullivan scored on wild pitch.

Top 5th
Venden scored on error.

Bottom 7th
Harmon reached on bunt single, Pierce scored.

Multiple hits:
Y- McGrath, Robichaud, Sullivan

Runs:
Y- Sullivan 2, Gautreau, McCosh, Venden
CE- Pierce

RBI:
Y- Robichaud, Waeldner
CE- Harmon

Stolen bases:
Y- Collins

Left on base:
Y- 6
CE- 7

Dickinson, Sullivan (7) and Brewer; Smith, Sullivan (6) and Tinsman.

Y:
Dickinson (WP) 6 IP 1 H 0 R 2 BB 5 K 3 HBP
Sullivan 1 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 0 K

CE:
Smith (LP) 5 IP 6 H 5 R 3 ER 0 BB 8 K
Sullivan 2 IP 1 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K

Time: 1:41

CAPE ELIZABETH—It’s hard to get too worked up about wins and losses when you get to play baseball on a beautiful day.

Friday at Holman Field, Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth each got to taste victory during a midseason doubleheader that will serve both squads well during their finishing stretch.

The Clippers controlled the opener, as senior Will Dickinson took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Yarmouth had three different players register two hits apiece in a 5-1 victory.

The Clippers hoped for a sweep in the nightcap, but they were stymied by Capers junior Hayden Webber, who allowed just three hits in a complete game effort and a two-run first inning double from senior rightfielder Charlie Bischoff proved to be the difference as Cape Elizabeth held on for a 2-1 win.

When the dust settled, Yarmouth boasted a record of 7-3 on the season, while the Capers are now 4-5.

“We’re so grateful to be playing baseball,” said longtime Clippers coach Marc Halsted. “(Cape Elizbeth coach) Glenn Reeves, who’s one of the best people in high school sports in my opinion, has been classy enough to play us three times during the regular season, three times in the preseason and have JV and freshmen games and have us over to their field. Kids are playing baseball during a pandemic. It’s great.”

Let’s play two

Friday’s weather suggested that just one game wasn’t going to be enough and Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth were happy to comply.

The Capers opened with a 7-3 home victory over Brunswick, then lost three straight games to Freeport: 6-5 at home and 2-1 and 2-1 in both ends of a doubleheader at the Falcons. After a 7-5 home victory over Mt. Ararat and a 4-2 win at Morse, Cape Elizabeth dropped a 10-0 (five-inning) decision at Yarmouth Tuesday.

The Clippers, meanwhile, started with wins at Brunswick (4-3) and at home over Mt. Ararat (9-3). After a 2-0 loss at Greely, Yarmouth put together a 10-run inning to rally past visiting Greely in game one of a doubleheader, 12-8, then dropped the second game, 13-3. The Clippers then won at Morse (5-0) and Wells (4-2) and at home over Cape Elizabeth, 10-0, in five-innings.

In Tuesday’s meeting, seniors Jake Gautreau and Jack McGrath combined to no-hit the Capers, while senior Will Cox singled, doubled, tripled and scored four runs and McGrath had three RBI.

Game one began with a temperature of 69 degrees, although the sun didn’t last and the wind kicked up.

Cape Elizabeth junior starting pitcher Colin Smith was sensational in the top of the first, getting Cox, the shortstop, to watch strike three and getting McGrath, the designated hitter, to do the same before blowing strike three past senior catcher Max Brewer.

Dickinson then worked himself into a tough predicament in the bottom half, before pulling a Houdini act to escape.

After falling behind freshman shortstop Gabe Harmon, 3-0, Dickinson battled back to 3-2, then hit the leadoff hitter with his next pitch. Senior second baseman Jack Pellechia worked the count full as well and he took ball four to put two runners on. Dickinson settled down and got Smith to line out to right and senior Jake Tinsman to pop out to first, but he then plunked junior first baseman Aidan Connelly with a pitch to load the bases. Dickinson then got sophomore rightfielder Owen Tighe to bounce to junior first baseman Gibby Sullivan and Dickinson ran over to cover and take the throw to extinquish the threat.

Yarmouth then produced all the offense it would need in the top of the second.

Sullivan led off by lining the first pitch he saw past a diving Connelly into rightfield for a leadoff single. Smith then lost control, hitting junior Jack McCosh with the first pitch before plunking Gautreau, the second baseman, to load the bases with nobody out. Junior righftfielder Matt Robichaud was next and he made Smith pay by going the other way and lining a single to left on an 0-2 pitch to score Sullivan with the game’s first run, reloading the bases in the process. With Dickinson at the plate, Smith threw a wild pitch to score McCosh, moving the other runners up to second and third. Smith got Dickinson to take strike three, but with Gautreau running for home, junior leftfielder Matt Waeldner laid down a perfect bunt in front of the plate and while he was thrown out at first, the squeeze made it 3-0.

“We call that a fielder’s choice, but that makes us happy,” Halsted said.

Cox grounded back to the mound, but the damage was done.

Dickinson continued to struggle with his control in the bottom of the second, but again, he got out of trouble.

Dickinson hit senior third baseman Ben Pierce with a pitch to start the frame and after getting sophomore centerfielder Antonio Dell’Aquila to line out to center, he walked senior leftfielder Luke Carignan on a 3-2 pitch. The Clippers’ defense then bailed out their pitcher, as Harmon hit a ground ball to the hole, where Cox, moving to his right, made the heads-up play to throw to third for a force out. Pellechia then grounded to McCosh at third, who stepped on the bag for the force out to retire the side.

Yarmouth tacked on a fourth run in the top of the third with two outs.

After McGrath grounded out to second and Brewer did the same, Sullivan beat out an infield single to third and took second when the throw got away. McGrath continued his free tour around the bases as Smith threw a wild pitch and after Smith hit McCosh with a pitch, another wild pitch scored the run. Gautreau watched strike three, but the Clippers had extended their lead.

Dickinson then set the Capers down in order in the bottom half, getting Smith to watch strike three, Tinsman to line out deep to left, where Waeldner raced back and stuck out his glove at the last second to record the out, and Connelly to bounce out to third.

Robichaud led off the top of the fourth with a bunt single down the third base line, but Tinsman threw him out trying to steal second. After Dickinson struck out swinging, Waeldner grounded out to Harmon, who made a sliding stop at shortstop before throwing on to first, where Connolly made a nice scoop to end it.

Dickinson made quick work of Cape Elizabeth in the bottom half, fanning Tighe on an off-speed pitch, getting Pierce to bounce out to second and getting Dell’Aquila to chase a high fastball to no avail for the third out.

Yarmouth added its final run in the top of the fifth.

After Cox grounded out to short, McGrath reached on an infield single. Senior Blake Venden came on to run and when Brewer singled to right, Venden went all the way to third, with Brewer moving up to second on the throw. Sullivan struck out swinging for out number two, but a throw back to the mound from Tinsman got away and Venden astutely came in to score. Senior Cam Merrill then struck out, but the Clippers had a 5-0 lead.

Dickinson got his offense right back to the plate by getting Carignan to pop out to short and inducing groundouts to short off the bats of Harmon and Pellechia.

In the top of the sixth, Smith gave way to sophomore lefty Curtis Sullivan, who got Gautreau to ground out to second, Robichaud to fly out to right and senior pinch-hitter Xan King to chase strike three, but the ball got away and King reached. Senior Gabe Collins came on to run and stole second and Waeldner walked on a 3-2 pitch, but Sullivan kept the deficit at five by getting Cox to pop out to second.

Any hopes of a Dickinson no-hitter went by the wayside on the first pitch of the bottom half of the sixth inning, as Smith lined a clean single to left. Unfazed, Dickinson completed his strong effort by getting Tinsman to pop out to second, Connelly to chase strike three and Tighe to watch strike three.

McGrath led off the top of the seventh with an infield single to the hole between short and third, but Brewer popped out to second, pinch-hitter David Swift hit into a second-to-short force out and Merrill struck out for the third out.

Sullivan then came on to close it out in the bottom half, but the Capers didn’t make it easy.

Pierce led off with a single to left off the glove of the diving Cox. With pinch-hitter Gannon Stewart at the plate, Pierce took second on a wild pitch. After Stewart lined out to center, Carignan reached on a single off the glove of Gautreau at second, putting runners at the corners. Harmon then got a bunt to stay fair and he reached with Pierce coming home with Cape Elizabeth’s first run. With runners at first and second and the Capers dreaming of a miracle rally, Sullivan got Pellechia to hit the ball hard up the middle, but it was right at Gautreau, who not only caught it for the second out, but stepped on second to double up Carignan to end it and Yarmouth was able to celebrate its 5-1 win.

“There was so much good baseball today,” Halsted said. “Will Cox going 6-5 in that first inning on a ground ball, a nice play by Gibby going hard to his right, then the pitcher covering first, Jake Gautreau with a double play to end it. Those are the things we drill so hard and it’s great to see happen in a close game.”

Dickinson only got stronger as the game progressed and earned the win after throwing six shutout innings of one-hit ball. He walked two, hit three and struck out five.

“It’s great to perform when you don’t have your best stuff,” said Halsted. “Will threw 23 pitches in the first inning, hit a few guys and had a walk in there, then he had his best stuff in innings two through six. He had a nice, clean performance.”

Sullivan gave up one run on three hits in his inning of relief. He didn’t walk or strike out a batter.

Offensively, McGrath, Robichaud and Sullivan all had multiple hits.

Sullivan scored twice, while Gautreau, McCosh and Venden also touched home.

Robichaud and Waeldner had RBI.

The Clippers stranded six runners.

“The wind on this sort of day in Cape Elizabeth takes batting averages down about 150 points,” Halsted said. “We didn’t have a single fly ball hit into the outfield. Everything was ground balls and line drives, but we got it done.”

Pierce scored the Capers’ run and Harmon had the RBI. Cape Elizabeth had baserunners, but stranded seven of them.

Smith took the loss, surrendering five runs (three earned) on six hits in five innings. He didn’t walk a batter and fanned eight.

Sullivan threw two shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out two.

After a short break, it was on to game two, where Yarmouth looked to complete the sweep.

“You have to have the mentality that you don’t want to split,” Halsted said. “We have some hard-working seniors who deserve to play and they want to go out and get a sweep of Cape in their last-ever game here.”

A sweep wasn’t to be.

An ace performance

BOX SCORE (Game Two)

Cape Elizabeth 2 Yarmouth 1

Y- 100 000 0- 1 3 1
CE- 200 000 X- 2 5 2

Top 1st
Sullivan singled to center, McGrath scored.

Bottom 1st
Bischoff singled to left, Harmon and Smith scored.

Multiple hits:
Y- Merrill

Runs:
Y- McGrath
CE- Harmon, Smith

RBI:
Y- Sullivan
CE- Bischoff 2

Double:
CE- Tinsman

Stolen base:
Y- McGrath

Left on base:
Y- 5
CE- 5

Sullivan, McGrath (3), Gautreau (6) and Mason; Webber and Dell’Aquila.

Y:
Sullivan (LP) 2 IP 3 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
McGrath 3 IP 2 H 0 R 1 BB 3 K 1 HBP
Gautreau 1 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K

CE:
Webber (WP) 7 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 0 BB 10 K 1 WP 1 HBP

Time: 1:33

By the time game two began, the temperature had dropped to 64 degrees and the wind remained strong.

The Clippers got off to an auspicious start against Webber, as Cox reached on an error. McGrath grounded into a short-to-second force out and Gautreau watched strike three, but McGrath stole second and Sullivan helped himself with a single to center to score McGrath for a 1-0 lead.

That proved to be Yarmouth’s highwater mark, however, as Robichaud flew out to center for the third out.

Sullivan, who ended game one, started game two by allowing a single down the leftfield line off the bat of Harmon, the shortstop. Senior second baseman Charlie Carver then flew out to right, but Smith, the first baseman, cracked a single to center and Tinsman, the designated hitter, reached when Cox, at short, couldn’t handle his ground ball, loading the bases.

That set the stage for Bischoff, the rightfielder, who lined a pitch to deep left-center for a single, scoring both Harmon and Smith for a 2-1 lead.

“That’s the first big hit we’ve had all year,” Reeves said. “We’ve had trouble stringing them together.”

Sullivan escaped further damage by catching sophomore third baseman Ben Altenburg looking at strike three and getting senior centerfielder Macgregor Francis to fly out to left on a 3-2 pitch..

Webber was sharp in the top of the second, getting King, the first baseman, to look at strike three, Merrill, the third baseman, to pop out foul to third and senior catcher Sam Mason to pop out to second.

Sullivan settled down in the bottom half, getting senior leftfielder Will Altenburg to ground out to second, Dell’Aquila, the catcher, to strike out and Harmon to line out to right.

The top of the third inning featured some controversy and nearly the game-tying run.

Dickinson, the centerfielder, led off by striking out swinging, but Webber hit Cox with a pitch and Cox took second on a wild pitch. McGrath then grounded out to short with Cox taking third. Cox then faked a dash for home and Webber was ruled to have balked, which brought home Cox with the tying run.

But after Reeves appealed, the call was reversed and Cox was sent back to third.

“The umpire didn’t think he stepped off and broke his hands and put his hands back together, so I asked them to clarify and they got it right,” said Reeves.

“That’s life,” Halsted lamented. “We should have scored more than one run. The umpires did a great job getting together and making a call they both agreed with. I do that as an ice hockey official. You can’t be an autocrat out there.”

Yarmouth still had a chance to draw even, but Gautreau watched strike three for the third out.

In the bottom half, McGrath came on to pitch and he got Carver to ground out to short and Smith to watch strike three and after Tinsman delivered the day’s lone extra-base hit, a double down the leftfield line, McGrath got Bischoff to ground out to third to retire the side.

The Clippers threatened again in the top of the fourth, as Sullivan reached on an error and after Robichaud struck out swinging and new second baseman Andrew Cheever watched strike three, senior pinch-runner Owen Kelley moved to second on an infield single from Merrill. Mason wasn’t able to deliver the run, however, as he popped out to Webber and the score remained 2-1 heading for the bottom of the fourth.

There, McGrath struck out Ben Altenburg leading off and after Francis beat out an infield single in front of the plate, McGrath got Will Altenburg to ground into a second-to-short force play before Mason caught Altenburg trying to steal for the third out.

Yarmouth went quietly in its half of the fifth, as Webber got Dickinson to fly out to left, Cox to fly out to center and McGrath to pop out to second.

Dell’Aquila led off the bottom of the frame by being hit on the foot and after McGrath got Harmon to chase strike three, Carver drew a walk. Smith then bid to produce an insurance run with a sharp drive to left, but Waeldner raced in to make a shoestring catch, then threw to second to double up Dell’Aquila to retire the side.

Webber made quick work of the Clippers in the top of the sixth, striking out Gautreau swinging, getting Sullivan to watch strike three, then getting Robichaud to bounce out to second.

In the bottom half, Gautreau came on to pitch and he fanned Tinsman, walked Bischoff on a 3-2 pitch, then caught Ben Altenburg looking at strike three before getting Francis to ground out to short.

Yarmouth would put the tying run on in the seventh, but couldn’t bring him home.

Webber fanned McCosh looking to start the inning. Merrill then lined a single to left. Brewer was next and he grounded a ball up the middle that Carver got to, but couldn’t hold. The ball took a fortuitous bounce to Harmon at short, however, and Harmon, stationed at the bag, was able to record the force out just in the nick of time. Dickinson was then the Clippers’ last hope, but he struck out on a 3-2 pitch and the Capers had a 2-1 victory.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Reeves said. “This was a big test. It would have been easy to roll over right there and take three losses to Yarmouth this week, but to come back and fight and to get a win was huge.”

Webber went the distance, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. He struck out 10, didn’t allow a walk, hit one batter and threw a wild pitch.

“Hayden’s come a long way,” Reeves said. “He’s gotten better and better and now he’s probably one of the top pitchers in the league. His stuff’s electric. He had a solid fastball and his curveball has developed and is very good. It was his game to win and he was going to go the whole way.”

Harmon and Smith scored Cape Elizabeth’s runs, which were both drive in by Bischoff.

The Capers stranded five baserunners.

Yarmouth got two hits from Merrill, a run from McGrath and an RBI from Sullivan. The Clippers left five runners on and just didn’t generate enough contact to prevail.

“We have to be more competitive with two-strike counts,” Halsted said. “That’s simple baseball. We couldn’t get guys to third base. Their pitcher did a fantastic job. You can’t strike out 10 times in a seven-inning game. That was the whole story.

“This is the second doubleheader this season where we haven’t been great in the second game, but we allowed just three runs this week in 19 innings of baseball. When you allow three runs in a week and get two wins, that’s a good week.”

Sullivan took the loss, even though he didn’t allow an earned run in his two innings. He gave up three hits and struck out two.

McGrath threw three innings of shutout relief, giving up two hits and a walk and also hitting a batter. He fanned three.

Gautreau came on for a shutout, hitless inning of relief. He walked one and struck out two.

Rivalry games

Cape Elizabeth has enough tough week upcoming, as it goes to Greely Tuesday and after playing at Old Orchard Beach Thursday, hosts Greely for two games next Saturday.

“We’ve been inconsistent,” Reeves said. “We’re still making mental mistakes and physical errors, but we just need to get one percent better every day and that’s what we’re doing. Hopefully we’ll be hot at the end. We’re playing a lot of baseball, which is fun. We have a tough week coming up this week.”

Yarmouth will see currently undefeated Freeport three times over the next eight days. The teams play a single game in Freeport Tuesday, then the Clippers welcome the Falcons for a doubleheader next Saturday.

“Being 7-3 is really good,’ Halsted said. “I had no expectations going into the year of being a 10-win team. Our only losses are to Greely and to Cape. We’ll take that.

“I live in Freeport, so it’s fun to play against them. They’ll be tough. It will be a blast. It’ll be a fun week.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Copy the Story Link