Brothers Scott and Kyle Heath look to form a strong pitching-catching combination for Westbrook High. If first appearances are any indication, they are well on their way.

Scott is a senior while Kyle is a freshman. The age difference — Scott is 18, Kyle 15 — precluded them from being a battery before.

“I played one year in Little League with him but I don’t think he ever caught me. This is the first time,” said Scott.

In a Telegram League opener Monday, the left-handed Heath limited Windham to one hit, striking out 14.

While this is the first time they’ve teamed up in a game, they’ve no doubt played catch at home. Kyle’s familiarity with his brother’s throws was evident.

Heath mixes a live fastball and sharp-breaking curve. That curve ends up in the dirt occasionally, but Kyle blocked all but one of them. The one that got behind him on a third strike put a Windham leadoff batter on first base in the seventh, but Heath ended the game with a tapper to the mound and two strikeouts.

“It’s really cool to have my brother catching,” said Heath. “It will be fun to go home and talk about the game around the dinner table. I feel real comfortable with him behind the plate. He did a great job.”

Kyle Heath, batting ninth, showed a strong bat. He knocked home the Blue Blazes’ third run with a sacrifice fly to right. Against Noble on Tuesday, he had two hits.

The Blazes have a deep pitching staff with right-handers Sean Murphy and Matt Weimer. Coach Mike Rutherford has a lot of confidence in his freshman catcher and and feels he also can handle the pitches of those two.

“They can throw curves and drops, and I’m confident Kyle will be able to block them,” said Rutherford. “I thought Kyle did a great job of framing the plate on Scott’s pitches. He has upgraded us defensively.”

The Blazes entered the season as favorites to win Western Class A. A year ago they lost to Biddeford, which made a surprising run through the playoffs before losing to Oxford Hills in the state final.

Some Westbrook seniors have played together since Little League. As 12-year-olds they played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Three years later they competed in the Babe Ruth World Series, losing in the national final. They also made the Babe Ruth World Series as 13-year-olds. This is their last chance to win a state title in high school.

“We just have to go out and do it,” said Scott Heath.

Heath never has had any problems with his left shoulder. He dislocated his right shoulder sliding into home last summer during a showcase all-star game. Heath had the shoulder operated on last fall and said it feels fine.

 

FALMOUTH COACH Kevin Winship and Windham Coach Mike Fullerton acknowledged the great experiences for their teams playing in Florida during school vacation week.

“It was a fantastic experience,” said Winship. “We brought 16 players down and played eight games in three days. We went 5-2-1. It was a very successful trip.”

Ditto for Windham, which had 20 players in Florida. Both schools played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., the spring-training home of the Atlanta Braves.

Cape Elizabeth also played there. All three played out-of-state teams.

“You put down the size of your school on the registration and they try to match you up with schools of similar size,” said Winship. “There were a lot of New York and Connecticut teams there.”

An added treat for Falmouth was watching a college game between Florida and the University of Central Florida.

Falmouth and Windham opened their official seasons Monday in cold, rainy weather back home.

It was a dose of reality for both teams.

Falmouth lost 7-4 to Wells and Windham lost 3-0 to Westbrook.

“It was 85 to 90 and sunny every day in Florida,” said Winship.

 

WHILE LOSING to Biddeford on a balk was tough to take, the good news for Deering is pitcher Jamie Ross threw without pain.

Ross relieved in the seventh and committed the balk that led to the Tigers’ 4-3 win.

Ross was shut down early last year because of arm soreness. He was bothered by soreness on his left side while pitching against Gorham during preseason.

“It looks like Jamie’s ready to pitch and that’s good news,” said Deering Coach Mark Sutton.

 

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com