KENNEBUNK — In a topsy-turvy season that started with several key players out of the lineup due to an April vacation trip, and has commenced with some big wins and a pair of late-inning losses, Kennebunk baseball coach Brian Dill has been able to rely on one thing throughout this spring: Ben Lary as the rock of the Rams’ rotation.

In a key Western Maine Conference Game against Gray-New Gloucester on Friday afternoon, it was no different.

Lary pitched a complete-game five-hitter, allowing one unearned run while striking out five and walking none, and Kennebunk supported him by pounding out 10 hits and getting runners on base all game in a 9-1 victory over the Patriots on a cold afternoon at Kennebunk High School.

Lary had thrown over 100 pitches in the Rams’ 12-3 victory over Freeport on Monday and was asked to come back on short rest three days later thanks to a schedule that had Kennebunk (8-5) playing four times in five days this week.

Originally scheduled to throw just five innings before being relieved, Lary only grew stronger as the game went along, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced and needing just 85 pitches to get through the seven full innings.

“I felt pretty good. I had a good warm-up and long toss and I hit my spots,” Lary said. “My changeup was working today; I haven’t thrown that a lot lately but it was working. It was nice.”

It was a team-high sixth start of the season for Lary, who improved to 3-1 while dropping his ERA to 2.83. With Kennebunk’s No. 1 starter Nick Emmons limited to just two starts so far this year due to a sore arm, Lary, a junior, has stepped into the role of workhorse with aplomb.

“He’s always coming out and giving us a good outing,” Dill said of Lary. “He throws strikes, he’s only had four walks the whole season, and he’s just very consistent. He’s kept us in every game that he’s pitched, so he’s been very valuable.”

After scoring 46 runs in its previous five games, the Kennebunk offense got on the board early and often against Gray-New Gloucester (7-5) starter Tyler St. Pierre, moving at least one runner into scoring position in every inning but the fourth.

Emmons led the charge by going 2-for-4 ”“ raising his average to an even .500 ”“ with four RBIs. The senior made just his second start in Kennebunk’s 11-0 win over Fryeburg Academy on Thursday, throwing five solid innings, but has found plenty of other ways to contribute this season.

“He does everything,” Dill added of Emmons. “He’s our best infielder, obviously a great hitter. He’s made up for the pitching he hasn’t done with other things. He’s just a great baseball player.”

Up 4-1 after four, the Rams broke the game open in the fifth, as Ben Wilson led off with a single to right and Kip Richard followed with a hard-hit double into the left-centerfield gap to score a run.

That brought up Emmons, who had hit the ball hard but right at fielders his first two at-bats. He didn’t leave anything to chance the third time, pounding a St. Pierre fastball over the center-field fence to give Kennebunk a commanding 7-1 lead.

“I just had to be patient in that at-bat,” Emmons said. “He was getting a little wild, the count was 2-0 and I knew he was going to give me a fastball. It was there for me and I took it.”

The Rams went on to tack on two more runs in the fifth to make it 9-1, more than enough for Lary, who had just six balls leave the infield all game.

“He was very good,” Emmons said of Lary. “All his pitches were working, he had great control keeping pitches down and they had a hard time hitting it.”

Kennebunk will next travel to Cape Elizabeth on Tuesday before hosting 10-1 Greely next Friday in a game that will go a long way in deciding the Rams’ playoff positioning. After a 0-3 start to the season, the Rams are now 8-2 over their last 10, with both losses coming by one run.

“We’re playing so much better than the start of the season,” Lary said. “We’re playing as a team and everyone’s focused. We need to keep that up.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.