SOUTH PORTLAND—Through five innings Thursday afternoon at Wainwright Farms, Falmouth’s offense was stuck in neutral, managing just one hit and no runs against host South Portland and its talented junior pitcher Kason Lewis.
But the Navigators didn’t trail, thanks to their senior ace, Brennan Rumpf, and they closed the game with a flourish.
After Rumpf gave his teammates a spirited pep talk in the dugout, Falmouth got the only run it would need in the top of the sixth on an error, then the floodgates opened in the seventh, as the Navigators scored six unearned runs.
Rumpf did the rest, completing his one-hitter and Falmouth stayed undefeated by virtue of a 7-0 victory.
The Navigators improved to 4-0 on the season and in the process, dropped the reigning Class A champion Red Riots to 3-1.
“We’re a big hitting team and I knew if we were struggling, we’d come around eventually,” said Rumpf, who has committed to playing next year at the University of Maine. “I have faith in my teammates and they came up clutch for me. I’m very grateful.”
Top tier
While South Portland has won two of the past three Class A state titles, including last year, and has reached at least the regional final round the past four seasons, Falmouth has been a top competitor as well, reaching the semifinals each of the past five postseasons.
Last spring, the Navigators, as the top seed in Class A South, were on the brink of setting up a regional final showdown versus the Red Riots, but let a late lead slip away in a 3-2 loss to Thornton Academy to finish with a 16-2 record. South Portland then beat the Golden Trojans, 4-2, in the regional final before downing Edward Little, 5-0, to win the title and finish 17-3.
Both teams have started strong in 2024.
Falmouth blanked visiting Gorham in its opener (4-0), then downed visiting Noble (9-1) before dominating host Westbrook Tuesday (28-1, in five-innings).
South Portland, meanwhile, despite having a vastly different look this season, won its first three outings: 6-4 at Sanford (in eight-innings), 11-1 over visiting Westbrook (in five-innings) and 13-3 at Noble (in five-innings).
Falmouth won last year’s meeting, 2-1, at home.
Thursday, on a 49-degree, windy afternoon, the Navigators did it again, but it took awhile for them to take care of business.
South Portland junior pitcher Kason Lewis delivers a strike during Thursday’s home game versus Falmouth. Despite Lewis’ strong effort, the Navigators prevailed, 7-0. Hoffer photos.
Red Riots junior pitcher Kason Lewis worked out of a jam in the top of the first.
Rumpf led off with a sharp grounder down the line which was nicely fielded by freshman third baseman Jude Charltray, but Charltray’s throw was low for an error, allowing Rumpf to reach safely. Lewis then picked Rumpf off first and caught senior catcher Ethan Hendry looking at strike three. Junior shortstop Josh Polchies drew a walk and stole second, but senior third baseman Tyler Simmons’ bid for a single to left was thwarted by a leaping catch from junior shortstop Eason Healy.
South Portland then had its best chance to score against Rumpf in the bottom half, but couldn’t push a run across.
Sophomore centerfielder Alex Horton led off by grounding out to short, nearly beating Polchies’ throw before being ruled out in a bang-bang play. Healy drew a walk and took second when sophomore first baseman Hudson Iacuessa grounded out third-to-first. Healy moved to third on a passed ball and senior rightfielder Curtis Metcalf walked and stole second, but on a 3-2 pitch, Lewis watched strike three to end the threat.
Sophomore first baseman Jacoby Porter started the top of the second by grounding out to second, then Lewis walked senior centerfielder Tony Severino on a 3-2 pitch. Severino stole second and after junior second baseman Thomas Healey watched strike three, Severino moved to third on a passed ball, but Lewis escaped by catching junior designated hitter Sam Shapiro watching strike three on a full count pitch.
Rumpf needed just five pitches to get out of the bottom half, inducing a first-pitch ground out to third off the bat of junior second baseman Corbin Voisin, catching Charltray looking at strike three, then getting junior catcher Brady Haynes to ground out to third on the first pitch.
Lewis opened the top of the third by fanning sophomore leftfielder Caden Berry. Rumpf then reached on an error by Charltray. With Rumpf on the move, Hendry grounded to the hole, where Healy made a tremendous backhanded stab and throw across for the out, but Rumpf went all the way to third on the play. He’d be stranded, however, as Lewis got Polchies to chase strike three.
In the bottom half, the Red Riots produced their only hit of the day, but it didn’t lead to a run.
Junior designated hitter Witt Redmond grounded out to short on a bang-bang play, but Horton followed with a ringing single to left. After Healy struck out looking, with Iaucessa at the plate, Rumpf caught Horton leaning and picked him off to retire the side.
Lewis continued to deal in the fourth, fanning Simmons, striking out Porter on a 3-2 pitch and after Severino beat out an infield single to the hole, getting Healey to fly out to deep left.
Falmouth senior ace Brennan Rumpf delivers a strike.
South Portland went quietly in its half, as Iacuessa grounded out to second, Metcalf struck out on a foul tip and Lewis watched strike three.
Falmouth threatened again in the top of the fifth, but ultimately left two runners on.
Lewis got Shapiro to strike out on an off-speed pitch leading off, but Healey drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch and after Rumpf struck out on another off-speed pitch, Healey stole second and Lewis plunked Hendry with a pitch, giving Polchies a chance to deliver the run, but he flew out to center to keep the game scoreless.
In the bottom half, Rumpf made a nice defensive play against Voisin leading off, fielding his chopper near the third base line before throwing him out. Rumpf then caught Charltray looking at strike three before getting Haynes to ground back to the mound.
The Navigators then went in front, with some help, in the top of the sixth.
But first, Rumpf had some choice words for his teammates.
“The message was just, ‘Wake up,'” Rumpf said. “I told them, ‘You can’t win a game if you don’t swing bats.’ (Lewis) was just getting ahead in counts and we were watching balls go by. We weren’t very aggressive. I was very loud and emotional. I try to get the guys going and it helps me too.”
Simmons got things started with a base hit up the middle. Porter then lined a single to center to set the table.
“(Lewis) was spotting his pitches really well,” Porter said. “Outside pitches are hard to hit. Coach told us to get up on the plate and force him to beat us inside and we got through to him. Our confidence never dwindled. We knew we’d get to him and when we did, we’d capitalize.”
Lewis struck out Severino on three pitches, then Healey hit a potential double play grounder to short, but after Healy initially bobbled the ball, he threw to Voisin for the force out, but Voisin’s late throw to first bounced away for an error and Simmons came home with the game’s first run.
Healy was Lewis’ final batter, as he hit the pitch count threshold, and freshman Brady Main came on in relief.
May got Shapiro to strike out looking, but the Red Riots were down for the first time.
And they could nothing with Rumpf in the bottom of the sixth, as Redmond struck out swinging, Horton was called out on a checked swing, then Healy fanned as well.
The Navigators ended all doubt with a six-run seventh inning, which was compounded by South Portland miscues.
Berry got things started by walking on a 3-2 pitch. Rumpf then grounded toward second for a seemingly easy out, but the ball hit Berry. Berry was ruled out and Rumpf was credited with a single. After Hendry singled to center on the first pitch he saw, Polchies hit a grounder to second, but Voisin couldn’t handle it and the error loaded the bases. That brought up Simmons and another Red Riots’ mistake, this one a passed ball, brought home Rumpf and moved the runners to second and third. Simmons walked to reload the bases and Porter came through with a sharp single to center, scoring Hendry and Polchies and putting runners at the corners.
“I was just looking for a pitch I could hit,” Porter said. “He missed one in and I took advantage of it.”
After Porter stole second, Main fanned Severino, but Healey followed with a single up the middle, scoring Simmons and again putting runners at the corners. After Healey stole second, Main appeared to finally get out of the inning when he got Shapiro to fly to center, but Horton dropped the ball and two more runs came across. Berry, who started the inning, ended it by watching strike three, but just like that, Falmouth had a commanding 7-0 advantage.
Rumpf came out to finish it off in the bottom half and he wasted no time, getting Iacuessa to chase the first pitch he saw and ground back to the mound. Metcalf then hit a little squibber in front of the plate and Hendry made a terrific play, coming out to grab it and fire to first just in time for the out. Rumpf then got senior pinch-hitter Alex Dobson to hit the ball up the first base line where Rumpf grabbed the ball, raced to first and tagged the bag and brought the curtain down on the Navigators’ 7-0 triumph.
“We put it away after we went ahead,” Porter said.
“Once that one run came across, we put some balls in play and they helped us out a lot with miscues,” Falmouth coach Mike D’Andrea said. “(South Portland’s) well-coached. They’ll play hard. They’ll compete. It was a game through six innings. We made plays and defended pretty well.”
Rumpf worked his way out of early trouble to produce his second gem of the season, allowing just one hit and two walks, while fanning nine in a shutout effort.
“I started off pretty cold and I wasn’t dialed in, but I got back in the right mental space and went back out there and did the best I could,” said Rumpf. “SoPo is always a great team. They’re gritty.”
“Brennan was incredible,” said Porter. “He threw a great game. He plays with a lot of passion.”
“Brennan had several one-pitch outs,” added D’Andrea. “That kept his pitch count down. He’s been training since November and his efficiency helped him finish the game. He was strong. I was happy how he got focused after the first inning. He was little too high there at the start. Once he settled down mentally, he was a different pitcher.”
South Portland coach Mike Owens also praised Falmouth’s ace.
“Tip your cap to Rumpf,” Owens said. “He threw a heck of a game, as he usually does. We had a nice approach early and he was amped up, but he settled in and found his slider. We put the ball in play, but it was weak contact.”
Offensively, Porter and Rumpf each had a pair of hits. Simmons scored twice, while Healey, Hendry, Polchies, Porter and Rumpf all had one run scored. Porter drove in two runs and Healey also had an RBI.
Falmouth stole five bases and left eight runners on base.
South Portland only managed one hit, left two runners on and committed six costly errors.
“We just gave them way too many opportunities and that’s way too good a team to give opportunities to,” said Owens. “That worked Kason’s pitch count up a little bit and we had to get him out of there sooner than we’d liked. We have good athletes out there who don’t normally make (errors) like that. They just haven’t been in those pressure situations against really good teams.”
Lewis took the loss despite an encouraging effort. Lewis allowed one unearned run on three hits in 5.2 innings, walking three, hitting a batter and striking out 10. He threw 112 pitches before departing.
“I thought Kason competed and made pitches when he needed to,” Owens said. “He did an excellent job. He didn’t have a feel for his off-speed stuff early. He settled in nicely against a really good team.”
“I credit Kason Lewis,” said D’Andrea. “He threw great. He mixed it up. Threw off-speed. He had command and competed well. I was really impressed with him.”
Main deserved a better fate as well, giving up six runs (all unearned) on four hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Main walked two and fanned three.
May beckons
South Portland returns to action Saturday at Kennebunk. The Red Riots host Portland Tuesday of next week, then go to Scarborough next Thursday.
The Red Riots know they face a steep learning curve, but this team’s potential is undeniable and they might just be a thorn in the side of the preseason favorites sooner than expected.
“We just need to clean up some stuff,” Owens said. “I thought we’d be a different team in June. We got off to a good start early, which might have been a little fool’s good. This is a good learning experience and we have another good team to play Saturday in Kennebunk. We’ll take a lot from this. We have to bounce back.”
Falmouth is home versus Bonny Eagle Saturday, then goes to Cheverus Tuesday before getting a chance at revenge when Thornton Academy pays a visit next Thursday.
“We have a long way to go, but I feel good so far,” Porter said. “I like our chances.”
“I feel good,” Rumpf said. “Good teams win bad games sometimes. That showed today. We’ll be a much better team by the end of the year.”
“We have some areas we can improve in,” D’Andrea added. “A bunch actually, but we’ll go out and have a good practice tomorrow and try to get better.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
