WESTBROOK — Left-hander Henry Curran pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts Thursday to lead South Portland to a 7-2 victory against Westbrook in an SMAA baseball game at Olmsted Field.
The Red Riots (3-0) fell behind 2-0 in the first inning but persevered behind Curran.
“The fastball was working,” said Curran, “and I had a great defense behind me.”
South Portland scored in the third when Jacob Brown singled, stole second, then later scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 2-1.
South Portland Coach Mike Owens said he was pleased with his team’s attitude.
“I think we showed good character today. (Westbrook) is a good team,” Owens said. “But we never showed any panic, we knew we had our top dog on the mound. We just hoped he’d settle down and allow us to work on our at-bats.”
Westbrook starter Keigan Sears pitched a sharp five innings before the Red Riots began to show their offense in the sixth.
Curran led off the inning with a single, then later scored when Matt Beecher singled to make it 2-2.
After an intentional walk to Sam Troiano, Anthony Degifico hit a two-run double to left field to give the Red Riots their first lead at 4-2.
“We continued to put up good at-bats,” Owens said. “We just kept plugging away and finally we broke through.”
Degifico and Drew Abramson also scored in the sixth on a two-run single by Sam Solomon to make it 6-2.
The lead was all that Curran, who pitched a complete game, needed to finish off the Blue Blazes.
“I’d like to work on getting more first-pitch strikes with better command,” Curran said. “But the defense was phenomenal; they held their own and got it done.”
South Portland scored its final run in the seventh inning when Beecher singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, then scampered home on a wild pitch.
“I was extremely happy with the effort and the never-give-up mentality that we seem to always have,” Owens said.
“We never panicked, and that seems to be the early season trademark of us right now.”
Westbrook (0-3) will take on Deering on Friday at Hadlock Field.
South Portland will look to extend its winning streak on Saturday with a home game against Noble.
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