CAPE ELIZABETH — Cape Elizabeth made two errors in the first inning, but played errorless ball the rest of the way to support the four-hit pitching of sophomore righthander Marshall Peterson in a key 3-1 win over Falmouth in a Western Maine Conference baseball game at Holman Field Wednesday.

Peterson and his defense took advantage of a strong wind blowing in to keep the Yachtsmen in check. Peterson also beat Falmouth in a 9-6 win on April 29.

“I pounded the strike zone with my fastball,” said Peterson.

“My curve ball started working midway in the game.”

Cape (9-5) entered the game ranked third in Western Class B behind York and Greely. Falmouth (8-6) was ranked sixth in Western Class A.

The game matched two of the top pitchers in the conference in Peterson and lefthander Cam Guarino, whose record fell to 5-2. Both pitchers kept the ball around the plate – there were no walks – and let their fielders make plays. For the most part, they did, although early errors resulted in all the runs being unearned. The game took only one hour, 15 minutes.

Cape was coming off a 9-4 loss to Wells on Friday in which it was missing freshman catcher Brendan Tinsman, who was playing in a tournament in Arizona. The Capers play Wells again on Friday before closing the regular season on Monday against Greely.

“Hopefully, this win will get us on a roll,” said Peterson.

“I think if we can win out, we could move up to second,” said Cape Coach Andy Wood.

“Marshall pitched an outstanding game.”

Falmouth scored an unearned run in the first when Cape tried to turn an inning-ending double play. The throw to first was in the dirt, allowing Colin Coyne to score.

Cape took advantage of Falmouth’s errors to score three unearned runs in the third – all with two outs. Aaron Dobieski had an RBI single in the inning.

“One bad inning cost us,” said Falmouth Coach Kevin Winship. “The wind played a factor, it was blowing hard. The outfielders could play in. We had a runner thrown out at first from short right.

“Cape made the plays.”

After beating Greely 10-1 on Friday, the Yachtsmen were looking to continue their momentum. Now they will have to look to regain it in Friday’s game with Yarmouth.

“That’s a key game for us to have any hopes of moving up in the rankings,”said Winship.

While the Yachtsmen had to adjust to the gusty conditions, Cape was less affected by the wind.

“We’re used to it,” said Tinsman. “We play and practice in it. It always blows here.”

Tinsman said Peterson pitched one of his best games of the season.

“He was hitting the corners, pounding the zone and doing what he had to do,” he said.

Peterson allowed only one hit over the last three innings and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.

Falmouth got its leadoff batter on in the fourth, but he was erased in a rundown between first and second.

Left fielder Nat Spicer ended the game with a long, running catch in foul territory.

Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH