A couple more innings, and Moody’s might’ve come back. The combo Westbrook/Gorham outfit got behind visiting Yankee Ford – that’s Deering and Cheverus – in the early going on Tuesday evening, but lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh. Pat Weimer’s blast to deep center scored the team’s first run of the game, and two more soon followed.

Time ran short on them, however; Yankee Ford’s lead was simply too big, and they defeated Moody’s 7-3.

“We just hit a lot of balls in the dirt, a lot of balls on the ground,” said Moody’s coach Gabe Polchies. “We’re playing a lot of baseball right now; we played two last night.

“And [Yankee Ford’s] a good team, too. You’ve got to have your head in the game to play them,” he said. “We played well at times tonight, I think. We just didn’t hit the ball well.”

Yankee Ford jumped to a 5-0 lead through the first four innings, then added two in the top of the fifth and one in the top of the seventh to go up 7-0. Moody’s odds had dwindled even midway through the game, and they could’ve given up long before their final ups – but they didn’t, and that’s perhaps what made coach Gabe Polchies proudest.

“I like their attitude,” Polchies said of his boys. “They don’t give up. It’s been fun.”

Moody’s made plenty of contact throughout the game; they just couldn’t put the ball quite where they needed to secure some runs. They never stopped trying, though, and surged in their final ups.

Bailey Ryan took a pitch in the back to begin the inning. Weimer followed him to the plate and promptly launched a triple to distant center, scoring Ryan all the way from first to break Moody’s offensive silence. Weimer dashed home on a wild pitch during Cam Smith’s at-bat, and Smith earned a double when he popped a ball into right that dropped just barely fair. Lucas Roop then knocked a grounder down the left-field line, scoring Smith. Roop himself got a little greedy though, and tried for second, where he got caught.

So what could Moody’s have done to start scoring their runs earlier – to really pull out a comeback?

“Get all our kids here,” Polchies said, chuckling.

As is true for many summer teams, Moody’s roster is a full 18 players, but their lineup from game to game shifts, because the boys have additional summer responsibilities to attend to, like jobs.

“We average nine to 11,” Polchies said of the number of kids who can attend any given game. “It’s about average. For us, it’s a lot of times nine.”

Cam Smith started on the mound for Moody’s, pitching the first three innings. “He threw pretty well,” said Polchies. “But with all the games we’ve got lined up – we’ve got another double on Thursday, one on Friday…I’m trying to conserve arms.

“Mike [Howard] hadn’t pitched for a few games, so he was a little bit off to start, but he’s been pitching very well all along.” Howard relieved Smith.

“Once [Yankee Ford] got the lead to where they were, it was really more about getting some of our pitchers some work. Getting them ready for seven games in the next six days,” Polchies said.

The loss, played at Westbrook High School, dropped Moody’s to 7-4. Three of those defeats, coincidentally, have come at the hands of Yankee Ford.

Weimer finished the day 2-3, including that massive RBI triple.

For more photos, visit www.keepmecurrent.com/sports, and follow @CurrentSportsME on Twitter.

Moody’s Mike Howard, seen here, relieved starter Cam Smith in the third. Coach Gabe Polchies says the team has “a ton of pitching” – but also acknowledges that they’ve been playing, and will continue to play, a ton of baseball. The team has seven games in the next six days, so managing their throwers will be crucial to winning.Third baseman Pat Weimer hurls a 5-3 throw across his body.Moody’s shortstop Jack McCullough whips a 6-3 throw toward first.Moody’s shortstop Jack McCullough whips a 6-3 throw toward first.Bailey Ryan steals second on his way to becoming the first Moody’s run of the day.

Copy the Story Link