Leading 3-0 after three innings Thursday, Cheverus got a reminder from Coach Mac McKew about the importance of staying focused.
Two days ago the Stags had a 3-0 lead against Westbrook and lost 4-3.
This time Cheverus gave up a run in the fifth, then totaled four runs in its last two at-bats to beat Scarborough 7-1 at MacDonald Field.
“Coach told us to keep the pressure on,” said winning pitcher Jensen Lapoint. “It was a tough loss to Westbrook.”
Lapoint, last year’s league batting champion, was pitching his first game of the season. He held Scarborough (2-4) to five hits and struck out eight. He displayed wildness in the late innings but not enough to hurt.
“Jensen really stepped it up,” said McKew.
McKew said Lapoint hadn’t started a regular-season game because the Stags (4-1) had a bye and their pitching is deep.
“I would say Jensen is probably our third pitcher but the ones ahead of him are probably” 1A and 1B, said McKew. “For us, it’s going to be about playing defense. We were a little rocky in the field but the kids settled down and responded. Our hitting came on strong at the end of this game.”
Four players had repeat hits for the Stags: Lapoint had a pair of doubles and scored twice; Jared Brooks had two hits and scored twice; Jack Whaley had two hits and scored; and Chris Vallee had two hits and two RBI.
The Stags got two runs in the first after two outs. Lapoint walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Brooks’ single to center. Brooks came around from first to make it 2-0 on a high double by Vallee that dropped in short right.
“It was really big to get an early lead,” said Lapoint. “It feels good to pitch in warm weather. I was throwing strikes.”
In the third, Lapoint doubled over the left fielder’s head, stole third and then came across when the catcher threw the ball into left field.
The Red Storm cut it to 3-1 in the fifth after Bailey Welsh reached second on a throwing error off his grounder.
Nick Lorello walked and the Red Storm pulled a double steal against an unfocused defense.
Josh Reed singled to left to score Welsh. The Red Storm had a chance for more runs but Lapoint struck out the next batter to get out of the inning.
Cheverus put the game away with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Whaley had an RBI single and Chris Billings was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth. Brooks and Vallee had RBI singles in the sixth.
Lapoint retired the Red Storm in order in the top of the seventh. After winning its first two games, Scarborough has dropped four straight.
“I know we have talent because I see it every day in practice,” said Scarborough Coach Ryan Jones. “Lack of hitting and not great defense have hurt us. Our pitching has been solid. We just have to stay positive and move forward.”
Cheverus is in the thick of the Western Class A race in the early season.
The Stags will get a good idea of just where they stand when they face unbeaten South Portland (5-0) and likely its left-hander, Henry Curran, on Saturday.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.