WISCASSET

According to first-year Wiscasset baseball coach Gregg Wood, there was only one fundamental mistake in Friday’s Mountain Valley Conference season-opening game against Boothbay — a mistake he made.

But, a judgment call at third base took a back seat to what was an otherwise strong start to the campaign for the Wolverines, who, after jumping out to an early lead, went on to capture a 7-2 victory.

“I think it’s a big confidence builder for the kids,” Wood said of his first win at the helm. “We played alright, we hit the ball well.”

Starting pitcher Darren Wood got the ball rolling for Wiscasset (1-0), coming out of the gates red hot and fanning his first six batters of the game.

“I think I threw pretty well,” he said. “Little wild every now and then, but overall, got the job done. The win counts.”

Then, in the bottom of the first inning, Wood helped himself by driving in Grant Hefler, who rounded the bases after a single, wild-pitch advance and stolen base. Wood coupled his strong pitching with three RBIs and a double on the day.

In the second inning, the Wolverines used patient at-bats to force three straight walks from Boothbay (0-1) starter Hunter Arsenault. The patience led directly to two more runs crossing the plate, and the home side took a 3-0 lead into the third inning.

Pitching plan

The starter Wood, who finished the day with 49 pitches over three full innings of work, was pulled after an infield hit, stolen base and wild pitch that led to Boothbay’s first run of the game, though, the switch was less about a sloppy inning and more about arm preservation for the upcoming games.

“What I’m trying to do is keep Tyler Bailey and Darren Wood available every other day,” Gregg Wood said. “So, if I keep them under the three innings, I can do that. I did want Bailey to have a little work, because he’s going to be starting on Monday.”

The coach said that Conlon Ranta, who pitched two innings of scoreless ball in the fourth and fifth innings, provides a “safety net” between Wood and Bailey. As far as the system goes, Ranta did just what Wood had in mind.

Bailey came in to close out the game in the top of the sixth inning, where the first batter he faced, Gabe Pyrin, ended up scoring after two errors in the infield. But, he settled down quickly and threw just nine pitches in the final frame while striking out the game’s last two batters.

Offensively, the first-year coach was pleased with his group’s effort. Hefler scored on another sacrifice fly from Darren Wood in the fourth inning, and Bailey, after earning a five-pitch walk, eventually touched home after a double from Ranta and another wild pitch. The score was 5-1 when Chayse Reed and Brandon Sprague each scored for Wiscasset in the fifth.

“We did a lot of BP,” Sprague said of the productive offensive day. “We went to the batting cages in Brunswick and we really worked on it so we could get a good start to the season this year.” the final frame while striking out the game’s last two batters.

Offensively, the first-year coach was pleased with his group’s effort. Hefler scored on another sacrifice fly from Darren Wood in the fourth inning, and Bailey, after earning a five-pitch walk, eventually touched home after a double from Ranta and another wild pitch. The score was 5-1 when Chayse Reed and Brandon Sprague each scored for Wiscasset in the fifth.

“We did a lot of BP,” Sprague said of the productive offensive day. “We went to the batting cages in Brunswick and we really worked on it so we could get a good start to the season this year.”

Gregg Wood noted that there are some players on his roster that haven’t played organized baseball since they were 12-years old, and Friday marked the first time they put hard offseason work into action.

“We’ve taken batting practice every single day for the last four weeks,” the coach said. “And I think it has made a difference. Especially building the confidence for those kids that have not played.”

Arsenault let up five of Wiscasset’s seven runs before being pulled with a 100-pitch tally at the end of the fourth inning. Xavier Downing (26 pitches, two runs) and Grant Giles (18 pitches, no runs) came on in relief.

Seven players in the Wolverines’ starting lineup reached base on a walk, and two, Hefler and Bailey, reached base three times. Sprague, who reached first by beating out a ground ball in the second inning, closed the day’s scoring with an RBI double down the right field line. He said it was crucial to play well and earn a win on Friday.

“ Very important,” Sprague said of the season opening win. “ You always want to start out on a good note, so starting off with a win should send us in the right direction for the rest of the season.”

The Wolverines will travel to Lisbon today to the play the rival Greyhounds at 4 p.m., but for Darren Wood, the focus is on one game at a time and not looking ahead on the schedule for big matchups.

“It’s game-by-game,” he said. “You figure that out. You lose three straight, then you can win eight straight, you never know. So, we take it one game at a time and hopefully get the win on Monday.”

Wiscasset 7,
Boothbay 2

At Wiscasset High School
Boothbay — 001 001 0 — 2-1-3
Wiscasset — 120 022 X — 7-5-2
Hunter Arsenault, Xavier Downing
(5), Grant Giles (6) and Cameron
Crocker; Darren Wood, Conlon Ranta
(4), Tyler Bailey (6) and Grant Hefler,
Darren Wood (4).
Doubles — (W) Darren Wood, Conlon Ranta, Brandon Sprague.
Records — Wiscasset 1-0, Boothbay
0-1.
Up next for the Wolverines — Today
at Lisbon, 4 p.m.