WINDHAM — Biddeford pitcher Brice Springer scrambled off the mound to field a dribbler, straightened and made a less- than-stellar throw to first base.

“It stuck in between my fingers,” said Springer, blaming his own saliva, “and I threw a curveball over to first.”

No matter. Springer shrugged off the seventh-inning single and retired the final two batters on a foul pop and a strikeout to cap a two-hitter Thursday as the Tigers beat Windham, 2-0.

Windham’s Caleb McCartney dives safely back to first base after taking a lead while Biddeford’s Owen Sullivan awaits the throw from pitcher Brice Springer.

Springer set down nine of the first 10 batters and allowed only a second-inning single to his counterpart, Chris Naylor, before designated hitter Tanner Bernier’s dribbler doubled Windham’s hit total in the seventh.

The Eagles (9-5) never reached second base.

“Every pitch went right where he wanted,” Biddeford catcher Curtis Petit said of Springer, who mixed speeds well enough to keep Windham off balance all afternoon. “When your change-up’s looking like that and you’re hitting your spots, it’s kind of hard to hit.”

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Springer struck out five, walked none and faced no more than four batters in any inning. A strong wind blowing in from center field helped both pitchers.

Biddeford’s Evan Paquette is tagged out at third by Windham’s Bryce Afthim.

After an unlucky first inning, Naylor buzzed through the Biddeford lineup with help from two double plays. He struck out six, walked one and finished with a six-hitter.

“For anybody to get an extra-base hit,” said Biddeford Coach Keith Leblanc, “it was going to have to be hard down the line and bend somewhere because the ball wasn’t traveling well.”

Kurtis Edgerton of Biddeford (9-5) led off the game with a sharp single up the middle. Carter Edgerton followed with a hit-and-run chopper toward the vacant spot left by second baseman Kyle Herzig, who had run to cover the bag in anticipation of a throw.

“That was designed,” Carter Edgerton said. “We were trying to move runners ahead and see if we could get two runners on to start the game, and it worked out.”

Logan Magnant’s sinking liner to center seemed to be caught on a diving attempt by Cam McCartney, but the ball popped loose when McCartney hit the turf. Suddenly Biddeford had the bases loaded and none out.

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A curveball in the dirt got Taylor a strikeout, but the pitch bounced away as a run scored. Evan Paquette stroked an opposite-field single to make it 2-0.

That turned out to be more than enough for Springer (4-3), who lost his last three decisions mainly because the Tigers provided only one run in those starts.

Biddeford’s Ashton Crowell catches a fly ball against Windham.

“He could easily be 7-0 if we could score some runs for him,” Leblanc said.

He’s been very consistent all year long.”

Paquette, who singled through the shortstop hole in the fourth, was the only player on either team with two hits. He also made six putouts in center.

“It helps a lot when you know you have good defense behind you,” Springer said. “The guys will make plays.”

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And the saliva?

“I lick my fingers,” he said, “to get a little more kick on the ball.”

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH


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