OLD ORCHARD BEACH — This always was going to be a trying week for the Old Orchard Beach baseball team. Four games were scheduled – one on Saturday morning following Friday night’s senior prom.

As if that wasn’t enough, Coach Tom Lachance found out Tuesday night that his starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game against Yarmouth had a slight case of turf toe.

No surprise, then, that Yarmouth, the top-ranked team in Class B South, rolled to an 11-2 victory against Old Orchard, a mid-level team in Class C South, at The Ballpark.

Yarmouth (8-2) stole 15 bases, constantly putting runners in scoring position. The Clippers also drove in eight runs with two outs.

“We only have two players from varsity last year so we’re young, energetic and enthusiastic,” Yarmouth Coach Marc Halsted said. “And we want to be aggressive on the basepaths, and make the other team make plays.

“We thought we could run today. So we wanted to be aggressive. Fifteen stolen bases is a really nice afternoon.”

Leadoff hitter Luke Waeldner got Yarmouth off to a quick start in the first inning. He walked, stole second – his first of four – and scored on Jack Romano’s two-out single.

In the next inning, the No. 9 hitter, John Thoma walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and came home on Waeldner’s two-out single.

The Clippers had runners in every inning. Four pitchers for Old Orchard (5-4) combined to allow 11 hits, 11 walks and three hit batters. Yarmouth scored in every inning except the fourth.

Coach Tom Lachance said he knew Halsted’s teams like to run, and the situation worsened because Evan O’Donnell, who was pressed into starting on the mound, is the usual starting catcher.

O’Donnell saw nine stolen bases in his 21/3 innings pitching.

“I think the stolen bases weighed on him. He walks a batter and then he can’t throw them out because he isn’t behind the plate,” Lachance said.

Yarmouth doubled its lead to 4-0 in the third when James Waaler (walk) and Jackson Caruso (hit by pitch) scored.

Waeldner, the starting pitcher, got out of jams in the next two innings: The Seagulls had runners on first and second with one out in the third, then runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth.

“I just trusted my defense and knew I had to throw strikes, and put the ball in play,” said Waeldner, who allowed four hits and one run in five innings. “It was a tight (strike) zone so I had to work with that, trust myself, trust my curveball and trust my team behind me.”

Lachance said he’s still looking for a clutch hitter for his team, which could have changed the complexion of the game.

“We’re battling on (finding) that clutch person. Once that one person becomes our clutch person it will become contagious,” he said.

Old Orchard finally broke through in the fifth when Tom Fregeau’s fly to center drove in Aidan Hickey, who had singled.

But that just made the score 9-1 after the Clippers batted around in the top of the inning and scored five runs. Chris Romano and Jack Romano had two-run singles for Yarmouth in the fifth.

Matt Hurley stroked a run-scoring double in the sixth for Old Orchard.

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