FALMOUTH — Marshwood needed a spark.

After a promising start to the baseball season, the Hawks had lost a pair of one-run games to return to .500 and found themselves clinging to one of the final two playoff positions in Class A South.

Falmouth, their opponent Thursday, was in similar straits, trying to snap a three-game slide. Through four innings, Falmouth held a two-run lead, and that’s when Marshwood Coach Eric Fernandes summoned Jay Lyman off the bench.

After chilling for an hour in 49-degree weather, Lyman opened the fifth with a line drive off hard-throwing Falmouth starter Griffin Aube. The ball squirted beneath the glove of an outfielder to allow Lyman to reach second base.

Two more errors, a walk and two more hits later, Marshwood was in control of a game it went on to win 8-3 at Croker Memorial Field.

“Jay has not been a regular in our lineup at all this year,” Fernandes said, “but he stayed focused. He kept his energy up. He never got down on himself.”

Advertisement

The Hawks are 4-3. Falmouth, the two-time defending Class A South champion, is 3-5.

Leadoff batter Ian Parmley followed Lyman’s hit with a sacrifice and Aube’s throw to first sailed high, allowing Lyman to score and Parmley to race all the way to third base. A Trevor Chase groundout then tied the score.

After a double by Max Horton and a walk, Connor Caverly made it 5-3 with a double to the corner in left. The Hawks had the lead for good.

“This was definitely a pivotal game in the season,” said Horton, who had two of Marshwood’s six hits and a pair of sacrifice flies. “We needed to get back on track.”

Lyman drew a walk to open the sixth and came around to score another run on Horton’s second sacrifice fly.

Lyman’s bid for another hard-hit single died in a sliding catch by Falmouth left fielder Marcus Cady.

Advertisement

“I didn’t like the at-bat of our starter, and gave (Lyman) a shot,” said Fernandes, who told Lyman after the game that he would be starting Saturday against Deering.

“It was beautiful. I’m so happy for him.”

How did Lyman remain warm through the first four innings?

“I’ve been ready to go in all year,” he said. “I’ve been practicing hard.”

Curtis held Falmouth to six hits in six innings. He struck out five, walked three and recovered from a hiccup in the third, when he ignored a baserunner and jogged all the way to first with a comebacker for what he mistakenly thought was the third out.

Immediately, Sam Kidder’s RBI double gave Falmouth a 3-1 lead and Ike Keily followed with an infield single, but Curtis retired the next seven batters. Horton ended the game with a 1-2-3 seventh that included two strikeouts.

Advertisement

Kidder and Keily each had two hits for Falmouth, but seven errors opened the door to five unearned runs.

“Offensively, I thought we were fine,” Falmouth Coach Kevin Winship said. “If we don’t clean it up defensively, then I don’t know when we’re going to win another game.”

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH


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.