STANDISH – Cape Elizabeth’s Sam Kozlowski pitched the game of his life against the Falmouth Yachtsmen at St. Joseph’s College on Thursday. With his team vying for a chance to make it to the state title game, Kozlowski stepped to the mound and threw a no-hitter.

His team, however, will not be making the trip to Bangor on Saturday.

After pitching seven innings of no-hit baseball, Kozlowski surrendered the winning run on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Capers fell 1-0.

“It was a fastball that hit the inside part of the mitt,” said Kozlowski. “It happens.”

Kozlowksi, who walked five and struck out seven, had been living dangerously all night but was the beneficiary of spectacular defense behind him, most notably a diving stab in the bottom of the seventh by second basemen Matty Pierce to preserve the no-hitter.

Kozlowski walked Falmouth’s Connor Murphy to lead off the eighth. Addison Foltmer followed with a sacrifice bunt back to Kozlowski, who momentarily looked to second before deciding to get the sure out at first. Murphy advanced to third on a passed ball.

After Kozlowski struck out the next batter, a two-seam fastball on a 1-2 count made its way to the backstop allowing Murphy to score.

“I’m not mad, we played well,” said Murphy. “We had our chances, we just didn’t score.”

Unfortunately for Kozlowski, the baseball Gods just didn’t seem to be on his side. He nearly gave his team the lead in the top of the seventh when he roped a deep drive down the left field line with Max Gore on second base.

The Capers (11-9) were held to only four hits by Falmouth’s Nick Spencer over eight innings.

The Capers’ loss marks the conclusion of a dramatic run through the postseason in which the No. 9 seed knocked off Freeport, top-seeded Greely, and Yarmouth to advance to the regional final against second-ranked Falmouth.

“No one expected us to get this far,” said Kozlowksi.

Cape Elizabeth’s Sam Kozlowski trots off the mound after pitching seven no-hit inning in against the Falmouth Yachtsmen in the Western Class B regional final. Kozlowski pitched a no-hitter but picked up the hard-luck loss. (Staff photo by Nate Boroyan)