GORHAM — Brogan McDonald returned Friday from a self-inflicted concussion and this time, he contained his damage to pitched baseballs.
A senior captain, McDonald hit the ball hard in each of his four at-bats. He went 3 for 4 with a three-run double that broke open what became a 15-5 SMAA victory for Gorham over two-time defending regional champion Falmouth.
Both teams entered 3-1.
Falmouth jumped ahead 1-0 but the Rams answered with a 10-run outburst in the bottom of the inning fueled by three errors, two hit batsmen, two walks and two infield singles.
“We put it in play in places it was tough for them to get to,” said Gorham Coach Chuck Nadeau. “We had some good fortune but we took advantage of it.”
McDonald had two hits in the inning, a line single to left that loaded the bases and a double in the gap that cleared them. In a 3-1 victory over Bonny Eagle last weekend, McDonald face planted awkwardly on a slide into second base and put himself out of commission.
“I hit my head off the dirt and my feet came over and almost touched the dirt in front of me,” said McDonald, who missed practices as well as Tuesday’s 6-4 victory over Scarborough. “I’m still, like, in a daze.”
Only two of the 10 runs were earned. Falmouth starter Griffin Aube recorded his second strikeout while the score was 2-1, but Trevor Loubier beat out a dribbler and Trevor Gray reached on a dropped line drive to make it 5-1. Aube plunked Ben Nelson, walked in a run, uncorked a wild pitch and issued another walk before McDonald delivered the knockout blow.
“It was just a snowball effect,” said Aube, one of only three returning starters for Falmouth. “It was a tough game in the field for us. But we’re a young team. We need this experience. We need to realize we’re not as good as we used to be.”
Aube had two of the six hits for Falmouth, which scored in each of the first three innings. Sam Kidder blasted a two-run triple in Falmouth’s three-run third, which made the score 13-5.
Jack Kidder relieved Aube in the first and tossed scoreless innings in the third and fourth. Gorham parlayed three walks into three runs in the second, despite the only hit being an infield single by Kyle King, who had two of Gorham’s nine hits.
“It happens,” Falmouth Coach Kevin Winship said. “The kids battled back. They stayed in the game. We learn from it and move on.”
McDonald started the game-ending rally with a single to left to open the fifth. A walk and Will Prescott’s single loaded the bases. Another error allowed a run to score and Gray drew a one-out walk to force in the final run.
Jacob Sladen held Falmouth to five hits in three innings. He struck out two and walked one. Ryan Norris retired 6 of 7 batters he faced in two innings of relief.
“We’ve all run into those innings that are difficult and seem like they’re never-ending,” Nadeau said. “They had one (Friday) and we were the beneficiary.”
Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or
Twitter: GlennJordanPPH
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