WESTBROOK — Scott Heath seems to have picked up where he left off last year.

The returning Westbrook High All-Telegram League MVP pitched a one-hitter and struck out 14 Windham batters as the Blue Blazes blanked the Eagles 3-0 in a mutual baseball opener under drizzily skies here Monday afternoon.

Additional Photos

Windham's Cody Dube, left, tags out Westbrook's Joe Quinlan on a steal attempt in the bottom of the first inning Monday afternoon in Westbrook. The Blue Blazes opened with a 3-0 victory.

Scott Heath says he expects the velocity to return to his pitches by midseason, but on Monday his curve was working just fine. Heath gave up one hit and struck out 14 Windham batters in a 3-0 win. Photos by John Ewing/Staff Photographer

The game was rescheduled from Saturday, when it was rained out.

Heath, a senior headed to UMaine on a scholarship, had a perfect game through 4 2/3 innings.

“It’s always good to have Scotty on the mound when he has his ‘A’ game,” said Westbrook Coach Mike Rutherford. “That’s as good as I’ve seen him throw in a couple of years. The way he was throwing it, it would have been tough for any team in the league to hit.”

Heath upped his career record to 14-2.

Cody Laberge singled to right with two outs in the fifth to break up Heath’s no-hitter. Heath took care of that by picking off Laberge, who got tagged out in a rundown.

Laberge also hit a towering drive to left field in the second inning that was caught near the fence by left fielder Jake Gardiner.

Westbrook scored two runs in the second and another in the fifth. Zach Collett doubled to the gap in left-center to lead off the bottom of the second. Sean Murphy reached on a error. Zach Gardiner grounded a single between third and short to score Collett, and freshman catcher Kyle Heath, Scott’s brother, delivered a sacrifice fly to right to score Murphy.

The Eagles made two errors and pitcher Ben Noble hit a batter. The Blazes loaded the bases but needed another hit or two to make the inning even bigger.

“If we could have strung together a few more hits, we would have had a bigger lead,” said Heath. “Those hits will come. We had some good at-bats and some not so good at bats.”

Heath had shoulder surgery last fall and underwent rehabilitation during the winter. He was cleared to swing a bat in January.

After being upset by Biddeford in the Western Maine final last June, the Blazes couldn’t wait for the season to start.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day since last year,” said Heath. “I felt good. My curve ball was working.”

Heath appeared to have his usual velocity on his fast ball.

“Right now, it’s hard to tell what my velocity is. I’m just trying to stretch and build up arm strength,” he said. “My velocity should be there in midseason. Once I get two or three of starts under my belt, I should be fine. This was the first time I pitched seven innings so far and I felt a little tired at the end.”

Heath drove his younger brother home to make it 3-0 in the fifth with a sharp ground ball through the middle.

Rutherford liked the way the younger Heath handled himself behind the plate.

“Kyle makes a big difference for us at catcher,” he said. “He was really framing the ball.”

Windham Coach Mike Fullerton said his team would have had to be at their best with the way Heath pitched. Windham’s Noble pitched well, allowing six hits.

“You can’t make mistakes and expect to beat a team like Westbrook,” said Fullerton. “When Heath is on, you have to play your best. As much as I was impressed by Heath’s pitching, I was just as impressed with the game his brother caught.”

Heath walked the first two batters in the sixth.

They moved to second and third after a sacrifice bunt but stayed there when Heath, a left-hander, struck out the next two hitters.

Collett had two doubles to lead the Westbrook attack.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

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