BATH

It was a play Morse High School coach Garrett Olson envisioned while possibly on a stakeout during a night of police work, and one his Shipbuilders had practiced a few times prior to Thursday’s Western Maine Class B quarterfinal contest against No. 11 Oak Hill at Kelley Field.

Pitcher Trenton Moore wheeled on a pick-off attempt, and second baseman Zack Holbrook and shortstop Keegan McDonough dove while center fielder Aaron Barrett moved toward the infield. Raiders base runner Jonah Martin rose and took off for third, believing the ball was in the outfield.

Problem was, Moore still had the ball and Martin was tagged out by third baseman Andrew LaCavera.

The play, one of four Oak Hill base runners thrown out on the basepaths in the first three innings, highlighted a 7- 1 Shipbuilders win and a spot in the Western B semifinals against No. 2 Falmouth (15-2), a 5-4 quarterfinal winner over Poland. The game is slated for Saturday at Falmouth, but with heavy rain in the forecast, a decision on the contest will be decided later today.

“We actually didn’t do it as well as we would like to, but it worked,” said Olson of the trick play. “It is a play we do in practice for fun to keep the kids into it and mix it up a little bit. The kids wanted to know if we were going to use it, and it was a perfect situation to try it.”

“We hadn’t used that play at all, and last practice we practiced it and thought it would be nice, we did it and it worked out well,” said Moore. “We had quite a few pickoffs today, and it took a lot of weight off of my shoulders.”

“We had to make it realistic, and the point was to delay and make it look like I was behind the bag. The runner was thrown off and even the umpire was thrown off,” added Holbrook.

The costly baserunning mistakes cost the Raiders.

“They threw us off a bit on the bases, and it was a momentum killer,” said Oak Hill’s (9-9) Ryan Riordan, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI. “The Cape Elizabeth win (16-0 in a Western B preliminary) gave us confidence, and even today we hit the ball good. But, Morse is pretty good and definitely is a contender.”

A four-run Morse (13-4) third inning put the Shipbuilders in control, and Moore received solid defense in going the distance on 115 pitches.

“He does a great job of pitching with a lead, and he knows to let them put the ball in play and relies on our defense,” said Olson after watching his hurler allow 10 hits, walk two and strike out three. “He is rock-solid, and nothing frustrates him.”

“I felt like I was getting stronger, and though I wasn’t striking out every guy, the defense was really good and won this game for us,” said Moore.

Raiders lead

Brady Dion touched Moore for a triple to right field in the first inning. He scored two pitches later on a solid single by former Lisbon standout Riordan.

Morse answered in the first as Moore walked, stole second and trotted home on a single by Liam McDonough.

Raiders starting pitcher Parker Asselin and Moore each pitched scoreless second frames, and Moore picked off Asselin to end the Oak Hill third.

The Shipbuilders got rolling in the third. Holbrook drove an Asselin offering to the gap in left-center field for a double to open the inning.

“I wanted to place the ball right there and I did,” said Holbrook. “We have a lot of confidence with Trent on the mound, especially when we get a lead.”

Moore helped himself with a go-ahead RBI single, and Paul Whalen singled to score Moore for a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Ethan Winglass laced a two-run triple to right-center field for a 5-1 edge.

Morse took advantage of reliever Jake Martin’s wildness in the fourth.

A pair of walks and a bunt single by Moore loaded the bases, and back- to- back errors made for a 7-1 contest.

Moore took over from there.

Though he allowed at least one hit in each inning, he received solid defense from the likes of Holbrook, LaCavera and Keegan McDonough.

Now, Morse gets its rematch with Falmouth. Last season, a three- run home run in the sixth inning allowed the Yachtsmen to walk-off with a 3-0 win in the semifinals.

“We are excited and the guys are ready for it, wanting redemption. I think we’re more prepared than we were last year,” said Olson.

Dion, Jake Bannister and Jonah Martin each had two hits to lead Oak Hill, while Moore was 2-for-3, Whalen 2- for-4 and Holbrook reached three times ( double, two walks) and scored two runs.

No. 3 Morse 7,
No. 11 Oak Hill 1

Western Maine Class B Quarterfinal
At Kelley Field, Bath
Oak Hill — 100 000 0 — 1-10-2
Morse — 104 200 X — 7- 9-2
Parker Asselin, Jake Martin (4), Sam
Morin (6) and Jake Bannister; Trenton
Moore and Liam McDonough.
Doubles — (Mo) Zach Holbrook.
Triples — (OH) Brady Dion; (Mo) Ethan
Winglass.
Repeat hitters — (OH) Brady Dion, Ryan
Riordan (3), Jake Bannister, Jonah Martin;
(Mo) Trenton Moore, Paul Whalen.
Records — Morse 13-4, Oak Hill 9-9.
Up next for Morse — TBA against No. 2
Falmouth (15-2) in the Western B semifinals.