BOX SCORE

South Portland 6 Falmouth 5

SP- 200 103 0- 6 13 0
F-001 110 2- 5 12 2

Top 1st
Thurber singled to left, Heffernan scored. Hobbs scored on error.

Bottom 3rd
Gill reached on infield single, Gay scored.

Top 4th
O’Connell homered to left, O’Connell scored.

Bottom 4th
Gay singled to right-center, Smith scored.

Bottom 5th
Smith tripled to left-center, Gill scored.

Top 6th
Thurber scored on error. Heffernan singled to left, O’Connell and Domingos scored.

Bottom 7th
Hendry homered to left, Gill and Hendry scored.

Multiple hits:
SP- Heffernan, O’Connell, Thurber 3
F- Gill 3, Gay, Hendry, Rumpf, Smith

Runs:
SP- O’Connell 2, Domingos, Heffernan, Hobbs, Thurber
F- Gill 2, Gay, Hendry, Smith

RBI:
SP- Heffernan 2, O’Connell, Thurber
F- Hendry 2, Gay, Gill, Smith

Double:
SP- Poole

Triple:
F- Smith

Home runs:
SP- O’Connell
F- Hendry

Stolen bases:
F- Gay, Gill, Ham

Left on base:
SP- 7
F- 9

Hobbs and Gilboy; Tracy, Smith (6) and Hendry.

SP:
Hobbs (W) 7 IP 12 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 5 K

F:
Tracy (L) 5.1 IP 11 H 6 R 5 ER 1 BB 2 K
Smith 1.2 IP 2 H 0 R 0 BB 0 K 1 HBP

Time: 1:55

FALMOUTH—Despite the twists and turns that the playoffs bring, South Portland’s baseball team knows how to respond.

Because the Red Riots have been in so many big games in recent years.

And won them.

Saturday morning at Croker Field, third-ranked South Portland got pushed to the brink by No. 2 Falmouth in a Class A South semifinal, but made just enough plays at just enough big moments to pull out another inspirational victory and keep its quest for a repeat state title alive.

The Red Riots got out to a fast start, scoring twice in the top of the first, on an RBI single from senior centerfielder Ryan Thurber and a throwing error, but the Navigators, who lost by seven runs to South Portland in the regular season, would respond.

In the bottom of the third, Falmouth got to Red Riots junior starter Nolan Hobbs, as senior first baseman Patrick Gill beat out an infield single with the bases loaded to cut the deficit in half.

The Red Riots got the run right back in the top of the fourth, as senior designated hitter Finn O’Connell got a hold of a fastball from Navigators senior starter Dom Tracy and hit it over the leftfield fence for a 3-1 advantage.

Falmouth then drew within one in the bottom half, as senior centerfielder Miles Gay hit an RBI single, then the Navigators tied it up in the fifth, as senior leftfielder Bennett Smith hit a clutch two-out RBI triple.

But South Portland popped right off the deck in the sixth, loading the bases with one out before going ahead to stay on an errant pickoff throw. Junior third baseman Andrew Heffernan added a couple huge insurance runs with a two-run, bases loaded single, but the Red Riots weren’t able to put it away easily.

In the bottom of the seventh, just two outs from elimination, Gill singled and sophomore catcher Ethan Hendry followed with a two-run blast to make it a one-run game.

With two outs, sophomore second baseman Brennan Rumpf kept hope alive with a single, but Hobbs, who threw over 100 pitches, was able to go the distance and close it out by inducing a pop-up off the bat of freshman pinch-hitter Tyler Simmons and South Portland held on for a 6-5 victory.

The Red Riots improved to 16-3, ended Falmouth’s fine season at 16-3 and advanced to take on top-ranked Thornton Academy (18-1) in the Class A South Final Tuesday at 3 p.m., at St. Joseph’s College.

“We don’t make it easy on ourselves,” said South Portland coach Mike Owens. “(Falmouth’s) a good team. We knew they were going to come back. They never give up. They’re very well-coached. You get to this point in the playoffs, you can’t expect it to be easy.”

Collision course

The Navigators and Red Riots have clearly been among the top teams in Class A South all season (see sidebar for links to previous stories) and a playoff encounter came as no surprise, but for most of the season, it appeared as if the game would be in South Portland, not Falmouth.

Then, the Navigators were able to leapfrog the Red Riots when South Portland lost its regular season finale at Scarborough.

Falmouth advanced in the playoffs by virtue of wins over No. 15 Massabesic (10-0, in six-innings) in the preliminary round and No. 7 Portland (8-5) in the quarterfinals, while the Red Riots beat No. 14 Deering (11-1, in five-innings) in the preliminary round before downing No. 6 Westbrook, 5-1, in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

The teams met May 24 in South Portland and the Red Riots enjoyed a 7-0 victory.

Falmouth had won both prior playoff meetings (see sidebar).

Saturday, under pleasant skies (71 degrees at first pitch), in front of a large and vocal crowd, the talented teams punched and counter-punched, but ultimately, South Portland did just enough to survive and advance.

Tracy got Red Riots junior shortstop Johnny Poole to bounce out to short to start the game, but Heffernan singled to left on the first pitch he saw and after junior catcher Richie Gilboy flew out to deep center, Hobbs singled up the middle and Thurber followed with an RBI single to left, scoring Heffernan. The throw home from Smith was high and that allowed Hobbs to score as well. Senior second baseman Jack Houle struck out, but South Portland had a quick 2-0 advantage.

Hobbs set Falmouth down in order in the bottom half, getting junior third baseman Mitchell Ham to line out to center, senior shortstop Brady Coyne to bounce out to short, where Poole made a nice play, and Tracy to ground out to first.

O’Connell led off the top of the second with a single through the hole between short and third, but after senior Alex Domingos laid down a sacrifice bunt, Tracy got senior rightfielder Nate Rende to stare at strike three and with Poole at the plate, Hendry gunned down O’Connell trying to steal third to retire the side.

The Navigators produced their first base runner in the bottom half, but couldn’t break through.

Gill led off by bouncing out to short, but Hendry checked his swing and dropped a single just over the glove of Houle. Smith then hit a fly ball to center where Thurber stumbled and failed to catch the ball, but he recovered and threw to second for the force out on Hendry, who had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught. Hobbs then struck out Rumpf for the third out.

Poole led off the top of the third by doubling to left-center, but he’d be stranded, as Heffernan popped out to second on a 3-1 pitch, Gilboy lined to left on the first pitch he saw and Hobbs popped out foul to first.

Falmouth then pulled within a run in the bottom half, even though it hardly made solid contact.

Hobbs struck out junior rightfielder Eli Cowperthwaite leading off, but Gay beat out a chopper to short for an infield hit, Ham hit a slow roller to Heffernan at third, whose throw to second was too late and Coyne beat out a slow roller for another infield hit to load the bases. Hobbs struck out Tracy for the second out, but Gill grounded to deep short and while Poole came up with the ball, he had no play and the infield single scored Gay. Hendry then drove the ball deep to left, but Domingos ran it down to keep the score 2-1.

The Red Riots got the run right back in the top of the fourth, courtesy one mighty swing.

Thurber led off and grounded to Ham, who made a nice play along the third base line before throwing on to first for the out. Houle then popped out foul to third, but O’Connell was next and he got a hold of a fastball and drove it deep to left and over the wall for a 3-1 lead.

“I just trusted myself and tried to hit the ball hard,” said O’Connell. “It was pretty sweet. I love seeing my teammates hyping me up.”

“Finn’s gotten better and better as the season went on,” said Owens. “He’s battled through this year after tearing his labrum. It’s been a tough year for him mentally. He can’t throw, but you can see him locked in as a hitter. He has some pop, so it didn’t surprise me to see him run into one.”

Domingos then drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, but with Rende at the plate, Domingos was thrown out trying to steal, sending the game to the bottom of the fourth.

There, the Navigators again drew within one.

Smith led off with a single to left and Rumpf whistled a single to center right past Hobbs to put the tying runs on. Cowperthwaite sacrificed the runners up before Gay singled to right-center, scoring Smith and putting runners at the corners. After Gay stole second, Ham hit a little nubber in front of the plate, which Hobbs got to and threw home to Gilboy to tag out Rumpf and prevent the tying run from scoring. Ham stole second as well, but Coyne’s ground ball to Poole in the hole resulted in the shortstop making a slick stab and throw across to retire the side with the Red Riots still clinging to a one-run lead.

“Poole did a good job setting the tone and made some excellent plays at short,” Owens said.

“I thought Johnny Poole was outstanding at shortstop,” said Falmouth coach Mike D’Andrea. “He took away at least two or three hits today.”

Rende led off the top of the fifth with a deep fly out to center and Poole popped out to second, but Heffernan singled to left on an on 0-2 pitch and Gilboy followed with a single to right, but while Hobbs gave the ball a ride to dead center, Gay ran it down to keep the score 3-2.

Not for long.

In the bottom half, Tracy flew out to right, but Gill blooped a base hit between Poole, Domingos and Thurber to put the tying run on. Hobbs got Hendry to pop out to first, but Smith came through in the clutch, lacing a triple to the gap in left-center and Gill easily came home to score on the play. Hobbs then avoided further damage by getting Rumpf to ground out to third.

South Portland then immediately retook the lead in the top of the sixth.

With a little help.

Thurber led off by hitting a high fastball through the hole for a single. Houle tried to bunt him over, but instead, he popped it up and Hendry made the catch for the first out. O’Connell then delivered another key hit, a single through the hole to put two on.

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard again,” O’Connell said. “I knew if I hit it hard, there was a good probability we’d be successful.”

Domingos then beat out an infield single to third to load the bases and that was it for Tracy’s outing, as Smith came on in relief.

With senior pinch-hitter Kenny Carlisle at the plate, Smith tried to pick off Thurber at third and appeared to have him dead to rights, but the throw was wild and instead of an all-important, momentum-turning second out, Thurber was able to come home and dive in safely for a 4-3 lead.

“We’ve been in these games a lot and we find different ways to win,” Owens said. “We took advantage of one of their mistakes where they actually had a good play on us and probably had us picked off but threw it away. We got a gift.”

Smith then hit Carlisle with a pitch to reload the bases, but Poole popped out to second for the second out.

That brought up Heffernan, who has been exceptional all season, be it as an ace pitcher, fielder or hitter and he didn’t disappoint, singling down the leftfield line to score O’Connell and Domingos.

“I got ahead in the count, I looked for a fastball and that’s what I got,” Heffernan said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much with it. I just got it down the line and got two runs in.”

“Andrew came up in a big spot,” Owens said. “Finn was on third base and we both were like, ‘He’s going to get a hit.’ He was on fire. He’s an excellent player both sides of the ball.”

Gilboy flew out to left, but the damage was done and the Red Riots had a 6-3 lead.

The Navigators weren’t able to respond in the bottom half, as Cowperthwaite struck out looking and after Gay walked on a 3-2 pitch, Ham grounded to Poole, who made a nice play in the hole before throwing to second for the force out, and Coyne bounced out to third.

In the top of the seventh, Smith got Hobbs to ground out to third and after Thurber singled down the rightfield line, Houle flew out to right and O’Connell lined out to first.

Hobbs then came out to close it out, but Falmouth refused to go quietly.

Tracy led off by hitting the ball hard, but right at junior first baseman Nick Swain.

Gill then kept hope alive with a single to center and Hendry then stepped into the batter’s box and drove a Hobbs offering deep over the fence in left and just like that, it was a one-run ballgame.

Hobbs then caught Smith looking at strike three on an off-speed pitch, but Rumpf kept the game going by singling up the middle, past a diving Poole.

With the tying run on and the winning run at the plate, Hobbs had all the pressure on him, but Owens allowed him to stay in the game and was rewarded as Hobbs got Simmons to pop the ball behind first, where Swain made a running catch to end it and at last, South Portland was able to celebrate a 6-5 victory.

“It was just awesome to compete and be out there,” said Hobbs. “It got close at the end. I had confidence in myself and in my team that we could go the distance. You just have to stay calm. Things like that (home run) happen in baseball. I just had to trust in my stuff. I was so happy for my guy, Nick Swain. That was a great running catch.”

“These are the kinds of games we embrace,” said Heffernan. “This is as good as it gets. They battled back, we battled back. There was never a time in a game that I felt comfortable. We just had to grind it out.”

“We stayed within our approach all day,” said O’Connell. “We know what we can do with the bat. We have confidence in each other and we fed off our energy and stayed confident all game.”

“We had a guy loose, but we were going to let (Hobbs) get the decision one way or another,” Owens added. “He wanted the ball. He’s a competitor. He’s the kind of guy you want in those situations. As usual, it was a collective effort. We got a little bit from everybody.”

The Red Riots’ offense featured three hits apiece from Heffernan, O’Connell and Thurber.

O’Connell scored two runs, while Domingos, Heffernan, Hobbs and Thurber each touched home plate once.

Heffernan had two RBI, while O’Connell and Thurber each added one.

South Portland left seven runners on.

Hobbs earned the win, giving up five earned runs on a dozen hits in a complete game effort. He walked one and struck out five.

“I have a ton of confidence in my boy,” Heffernan said, of Hobbs. “He deals and throws strikes and there’s nothing more you can ask for.”

“Nolan did a good job containing them,” Owens said. “They had a few infield singles that weren’t his fault.”

Falmouth pride

The Navigators got three hits from Gill and two apiece from Hendry, Rumpf and Smith.

Gill scored two runs, while Gay, Hendry and Smith each touched home once.

Hendry had two RBI, while Gay, Gill and Smith all had one.

Falmouth did leave nine runners on.

Tracy took the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out two.

“Dom, I thought, threw really well,” D’Andrea said. “They probably had two or three 0-2 or 1-2 base hits, so they hit well when they were behind in the count.”

Smith pitched 1.2 shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits.

“(South Portland) came to play,” said D’Andrea. “They got big hits when they needed them and got big hits with runners in scoring position. I’m very proud of our team for staying in that game and not quitting. A one-run game against the defending state champions, a team that’s very talented and well-coached, I’m very proud of how we handled ourselves.”

The Navigators lose seven seniors, most of whom played key roles, to graduation. The future is very bright for the program, but those players will be tough to replace.

“That group of kids and the way they played and conducted themselves on and off the field, I’m really proud,” D’Andrea said. “I’ll miss these seniors. They learned how to play the game in my system and ran with it. The main job of our seniors this year was to create and continue a culture that we want to keep and that’s a culture of expecting to win by hard work. They understood it and they showed the younger kids the way. We have some talented young plays and the seniors modeled for them very well.”

Taking on the top seed

South Portland lost at home to Thornton Academy (6-4) on May 10. The Red Riots are 5-0 all-time versus the Golden Trojans in the playoffs, with last year’s 3-0 regional final victory the most recent.

The pitching matchup will likely be Heffernan vs. Golden Trojans’ Georgetown University-bound ace Cody Bowker.

“We just need to have confidence, stay focused, have good practices and be locked in Tuesday and come ready to play,” said O’Connell.

“I can’t wait for the opportunity to play one more,” Hobbs said.

“It’s really just a new game,” Heffernan said. “Single elimination. It’s whoever comes ready to play. We just have to play our game. I’m looking forward to getting the ball.”

“Playing TA is what we expected,” Owens added. “Any time you give yourself a one-game chance to go on to the state championship, it’s great. We now they’re an excellent team. I think we’ll get Bowker, who’s the best pitcher in the state. It’ll be a good battle and we’ll have to have another good approach and you never know in that one-game situation.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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