CUMBERLAND—You never know what to expect when two of the top teams in Class B South square off.

At times, the pitchers dominate and runs are at a premium.

Other contests feature plenty of offense.

The bottom line is that there’s little separation in what’s arguably the state’s deepest and most entertaining region and all of that was on display Friday afternoon at Twin Brook Recreation Center, when Greely hosted Freeport in a midseason showdown of title hopefuls.

Early on, Rangers senior Ryder Simpson appeared destined for a gem on the hill, as he blanked the Falcons on just one hit over three innings, and in the bottom of the second, Greely gave him a three-run cushion, as a run scored on a wild pitch, then junior rightfielder Wes Piper cracked a two-out, two-run single.

But the Falcons, getting their first look at a top foe this spring, would awaken in the middle innings.

After loading the bases with no outs, then appearing destined to squander the opportunity, Freeport got on the board in the top of the fourth when senior leftfielder Will Maineikis drew a walk, but the Rangers got two runs back in their half, as Piper hit an RBI single and freshman shortstop Kyle Soule drew a bases loaded walk to make it 5-1.

But in the top of the fifth, Freeport reminded everyone just how potent its offense can be, as freshman catcher Jacob Cass sparked an uprising with a double, the first of five straight hits, and when senior starting pitcher Arlo Boutureira hit a sacrifice fly, the Falcons drew even at 5-5.

But Greely would have the last laugh in the bottom of the sixth, as sophomore first baseman Ben Kyles singled in the go-ahead run, then junior second baseman Liam Coull broke it open with a two-run single and junior Keeler Vogt, who came on in relief during the fifth inning, slammed the door to close out an 8-5 victory.

The Rangers improved to 5-1 on the season and in the process, handed Freeport its first loss in seven outings.

“You learn a lot more about your team in tight games against good teams,” said longtime Greely coach Derek Soule. “In Class B South, everyone has at least one stud pitcher. A lot of teams have more than that. I don’t know if in my 24 seasons if I’ve ever had a more competitive league.”

Return to form

Freeport won Class B South titles in 2021 and 2022, beating Greely in a memorable regional final the latter year, but last season, the Falcons slipped to 8-9, losing to Leavitt in the preliminary round of the tournament.

This spring, however, Freeport has flipped the switch and returned to its winning ways. The Falcons began the campaign with one-run wins over host Gardiner (5-4) and visiting Poland (2-1), then downed host Lake Region in five-innings (12-0), beat host Gray-New Gloucester (6-2) and Morse (13-4) and Wednesday, stayed undefeated with a 12-1 (five-inning) home victory over Old Orchard Beach.

Greely, meanwhile, also started fast, opening with a 12-1 (five-inning) victory at Lake Region, then blanking visiting Gray-New Gloucester in five-innings (12-1), before downing visiting Fryeburg (5-1) and beating host Edward Little Monday, 3-2, in a contest played at Central Maine Community College. Wednesday, the Rangers fell from the unbeaten ranks when they were shut out at home, 1-0, by Yarmouth.

Last spring, the teams split, each winning at home, as the Falcons prevailed, 6-2, and the Rangers triumphed, 3-1.

Friday, on a most pleasant 60-degree afternoon, both teams had their moments at the plate, but Greely saved its best for last and got back in the win column.

Simpson made quick work of the Falcons in the top of the first, getting senior shortstop Harry Walker to pop to short, where Kyle Soule went sprawling to make the catch, then fanning senior centerfielder Thomas Roy on a 3-2 pitch before getting senior third baseman Aaron Converse to chase an off-speed pitch for the third out.

Greely threatened against Boutureira in the bottom half, as junior catcher Wyatt Soucie reached when Freeport freshman first baseman Dylan Meinert bobbled his grounder and Piper followed by drawing a walk, but Boutureira got senior third baseman Marky Axelsen to fly out deep to center, Simpson to chase strike three and senior leftfielder Ethan Robeck to pop out foul to Mennert to end the threat.

Simpson started the top of the second by getting junior rightfielder Ben Bolduc to ground out to second, but sophomore designated hitter Liam Emmons singled over Axelsen’s head for the game’s first hit. Simpson then caught Boutureira, his opposite number, looking at strike three and got Maneikis to fly to right where Piper went to the ground to secure the third out.

The Rangers then put up a crooked number, with a little help, in the bottom half.

Kyles led off by lining the ball back up the middle and it deflected toward the first base line where Meinert had a chance to pick it up and tag out Kyles, but Meinert couldn’t come up with the ball and Kyles reached first safely. After Boutureira was called for a balk, moving Kyles to second, Kyle Soule grounded out to second, advancing the runner. With Coull at the plate, Boutureira uncorked a wild pitch and in came Kyles with the game’s first run.

Greely wasn’t finished, as Coull drew a walk, then Leding singled to center and when the throw from the outfield went to third, Leding took center.

Soucie went the other way and hit the ball hard, but he lined out to Converse for the first out of the inning, but on an 0-2 pitch, Piper lined the ball to center for a single and both Coull and Leding came home with Piper moving to second on the throw home. Axelsen popped out foul to first, but Greely was ahead by a seemingly comfortable 3-0 margin.

The Falcons couldn’t do anything with Simpson in the top of the third, as senior second baseman Tristan Francis chased strike three, Cass popped out to third and Walker chased an off-speed pitch to quickly retire the side.

The Rangers then had a chance to completely break the game open in the bottom half, but Freeport escaped the jam.

Simpson looked at strike three leading off, but Robeck battled back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk and Kyles followed with a single to right. After Kyle Soule lined out to second, Boutureira plunked Coull with a pitch to load the bases. That brought up Leding, who made contact, but grounded out to second to keep the score 3-0.

The Falcons’ offense came to life in the top of the fourth, but they only managed one run when they could have had much more.

Roy led off by lining a single to center on a 3-1 pitch. Converse then singled through the hole between short and third and Bolduc dropped a single in front of Piper in right to load the bases with none out. That brought Emmons to the plate, but after he got ahead in the count, 3-0, Simpson threw a couple of strikes, then got Emmons to ground back to the mound and Simpson threw home to Soucie for the force out. When Boutureira struck out on three pitches, chasing some high heat for the third strike, it appeared Simpson was going to get out of the jam, but after falling behind two strikes, Maneikis worked the count full, then drew ball four to bring home Roy. Francis watched strike three, but Freeport was within two.

“Only getting one run with the guys we had up there was tough,” lamented Falcons coach Steve Shukie.

Greely then tacked on two more runs in the bottom half to seemingly break open the contest.

Soucie got the fun started by driving the ball over the head of Bolduc in right and racing all the way to third with a triple. Piper then lined an RBI single down the leftfield line and after he moved to second on a wild pitch, Axelsen drew a four-pitch walk and that would be the end of Boutureira’s day on the mound.

Francis came on to pitch and immediately hit Simpson with a pitch to load the bases. Francis fanned Robeck, then got Kyles to pop back to the mound, but Kyle Soule delivered another run by drawing a four-pitch walk, bringing home Piper to make it 5-1. Coull hit a sharp grounder to first where Meinert dove and made a nice stab before beating Coull to first to end the frame.

The Falcons then erupted in the top of the fifth inning and in the blink of an eye, the game was deadlocked.

Cass, the number nine hitter, got the uprising started with a double past third base and down the line. When Simpson threw ball one to Walker, Derek Soule came out and replaced him with Vogt.

Vogt then allowed a first-pitch single to right off the bat of Walker to score Cass. Roy followed with a single to left-center, then Converse singled into the hole on a 1-2 pitch to load the bases. Walker came home on a wild pitch with the runners moving up a base, then Bolduc lined a single up the middle to score Roy and put runners at the corners. Emmons then struck out on an off-speed pitch, but Boutureira hit a fly ball deep enough to center to score Converse and tie the score. Maneikis bid for another hit, grounding the ball toward the hole, but Axelsen, who became an overnight star by virtue of a diving catch turned double play earlier in the week, which wound up on ESPN, went to his left and stabbed the ball before throwing Maneikis out from one knee to keep the score tied, 5-5.

The Rangers weren’t able to counter in the bottom half, as Robeck grounded out to first unassisted and after Soucie lined a single to right-center, Piper popped out foul to Cass behind the plate, then Soucie tried to steal second, but Cass threw him out.

In the top of the sixth, Francis struck out and Cass flew out to left, but Walker singled up the middle. Walker then tried to steal second, but Soucie returned the favor, throwing him out, sending the game to the fateful bottom of the sixth.

Axelsen led off and fell behind 0-2, but he worked the count even, then lined a sharp single to center to get things started. Simpson then drew a walk on four pitches and Vogt laid down a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. That brought up Kyles, who wasted no time, lining the first pitch he saw into right to score Axelsen with the go-ahead run and the runners moved up to second and third on the throw home.

“I was just looking fastball,” Kyles said. “I was confident and calm and just clutched up. Our mentality was being more aggressive today and we got hits.”

Converse came on to pitch and got Kyle Soule to chase strike three, but Coull produced some breathing room by lining the first pitch he saw into left to score both Simpson and Kyles.

“We’ve got some really good hitters at the bottom of the order,” Derek Soule said. “It doesn’t surprise me to see them come through. They work hard. I said at the beginning of the year that the bottom of the order would win us quite a few games this year.”

Leding lined out to left, but Greely took an 8-5 lead to the top of the seventh.

Where Vogt slammed the door.

Roy watched strike three leading off, then Converse lined out to left. Bolduc kept hope alive by reaching second on an error by Kyle Soule at short, but Vogt got Emmons to strike out on high heat to end it.

“This was a really good week overall for us,” Derek Soule said. “A fun week and an exhausting week. We had three really good battles. A tight one at Edward Little, a tight one against Yarmouth and this game, I’m proud of how we responded. We came out aggressive at the plate and grinded out at-bats. I was also proud of how we responded after we blew a four-run lead. We didn’t hand them a bunch of runs, they hit the ball. Ryder was cruising early on, but give Freeport credit. They adjusted and hit the ball well and strung together some hits.”

The Rangers got two hits apiece from Piper and Soucie. Kyles scored twice, while Axelsen, Coull, Leding, Piper, Simpson and Soucie all touched home once. Piper drove in three runs, while Coull had two RBI and Kyles and Kyle Soule added one apiece.

Greely stranded 10 baserunners.

Simpson went four-plus innings and didn’t earn a decision. He gave up two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out seven.

Vogt got the victory in relief, surrendering three earned runs on five hits in three innings, fanning four.

“I was trying to just focus at one pitch at a time,” said Vogt. “They have good hitters over there and they hit some good pitches. They hit pitches on the corner.”

“It looked like Keeler wasn’t settled in at first,” Derek Soule said. “It took him awhile, but once he did, he got in a rhythm and looked like the Keeler we know.”

Freeport out-hit Greely, 10-9, as Bolduc, Converse, Roy and Walker all had a pair. Converse scored twice, while Cass, Roy and Walker each came home once. Bolduc, Boutureira, Maneikis and Walker all drove in one run.

The Falcons left six runners on base.

Boutureira went three-plus innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Francis took the loss, giving up three earned runs on three hits in 2.1 innings. He walked two and fanned one.

Converse gave up one hit and struck out one in 0.2 scoreless innings of relief.

“The battle was great,” said Shukie. “Greely’s a good baseball team and they know how to hit. We out-hit them, but they had bigger ones. Playing from behind is never easy here. We put ourselves in a hole, but the fight was there the whole time. They brought a new guy in to pitch and we went right after him aggressively and hit the ball. We’ve felt like we have an experienced team that won’t back down from anybody. We have a lot of seniors who have been in big situations before. We don’t have some big names, but we don’t back down.”

Big week

The teams play again May 17 in Freeport, but the Falcons and Rangers each have plenty of challenges to overcome in the interim.

Freeport has three home games upcoming next week, as it welcomes Lincoln Academy Monday, Yarmouth Wednesday and Wells Friday.

“There are things we have to get better at,” Shukie said. “I think Class B South is the toughest region in Maine. Every game is a battle. We’ll take it day-by-day and see where we are at the end. Our pitching will keep us in games and if the hitting keeps doing what it’s been doing, I think we’ll be alright in the long run. We’ll compete.”

As for Greely, its stays home to face Lake Region Monday and York Wednesday, then visits Fryeburg Academy Friday.

“I love the team this year,” said Vogt. “We’re one very close family here and it helps us in close games.”

“This feels great and it gives us confidence heading into next week,” Kyles said. “We have stay confident as a team.”

“I’m happy with where we are,” added Derek Soule. “The guys work hard and will only get better.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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