Deering senior pitcher Mike Jones arrives too late to apply the tag on Marshwood senior Jay Lyman during the Hawks’ 20-4 victory in Wednesday’s season opener.

Brianna Soukup / Press Herald photos.

More photos below.

BOX SCORE

Marshwood 20 Deering 4 (5 innings)

M- 861 41- 20 12 3
D- 112 00- 4 6 2

Multiple hits:
M- Chase 3, McDaniel, J. Place
D- Fletcher, Russo

Runs:
M- Caverly, J. Place 3, Cagnina, Janetos, Lyman, G. Place, Smaracko 2, Chase, Hammond, McDaniel, Ricciardi 
D- Fletcher 2, Alves, Russo

RBI:
M- Chase, J. Place 3, Janetos, G. Place
D- Alado, Alves, Jones

Doubles:
M- Cagnina, Calvery

Stolen bases:
M- J. Place 2, Cagnina, Calvery, Chase, Lyman, McDaniel, G. Place
D- Fletcher

Left on base:
M- 9
D- 7

Smaracko, J. Place (2), Davis (4) and Caverly; Jones, Berg (2), Alado (3), Keast (5) and Hill.

M:
Smaracko 1 IP, 0 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K
J. Place (W, 1-0) 2 IP 3 H 3 R 0 ER 1 BB 0 K 1 WP 1 HBP
Davis 2 IP 3 H 0 R 1 BB 0 K

D:
* Jones (L, 0-1) 1 IP 7 H 14 R 11 ER 7 BB 0 K 5 WP
Berg 1.2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 2 K 2 WP
Alado 1.1 IP 3 H 5 R 3 ER 6 BB 2 K 5 WP
Keast 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 1 HBP

* Jones pitched to six batters in second

Time: 2:14

PORTLAND—Deering’s excitement over its 2019 baseball opener lasted all of 24 minutes.

The Rams hosted Marshwood Wednesday afternoon at Hadlock Field, but in the top of the first inning, Deering surrendered four walks, five stolen bases, threw four wild pitches and committed an error as it dug an 8-0 hole.

Deering would never get closer than seven runs from there and the Hawks rolled to a 20-4 victory, in a game ended after the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.

While that’s the bad news, the good news is that the Rams have 15 more games to turn things around.

“We gave (Marshwood) multiple baserunners and extra outs and you won’t beat anyone doing that,” said Deering coach Josh Stowell.

Tough start

Deering went 8-10 and made it to the Class A South quarterfinals last season and entered 2019 believing that if all goes well, it will be one of the final teams standing in the region.

Marshwood was 9-8 last season, losing to Falmouth in the Class A South preliminary round. The Hawks are perennial contenders and expect to be in the hunt again this spring.

Last year, Marshwood beat visiting Deering, 10-2.

Wednesday, on a very pleasant 57-degree afternoon (with a gentle 10 mile per hour breeze blowing in), the Hawks seized control from the get-go and never looked back.

Senior centerfielder Trevor Chase got the first inning uprising started with a bunt single off Rams senior starting pitcher Mike Jones. With senior rightfielder Jay Lyman at the plate, Chase stole second base on the first pitch. A wild pitch moved Chase to third and after Lyman walked, he continued on to second and Chase broke for home, but Jones fired to senior catcher Luke Hill to record the out with Lyman taking second on the play. Lyman took third on another wild pitch and junior shortstop Quinn McDaniel walked, bringing up junior catcher Connor Caverly, who watched as McDaniel stole second and Jones threw another wild pitch to deliver the game’s first run. McDaniel moved up to third on the play, then came home on another wild pitch on ball four to Caverly. Caverly was wild pitched to second and took third when junior pitcher Marshall Smaracko grounded to second, where sophomore Matt Keast made a nice play to record the second out. 

Six more runs would score, however, before the third out was registered.

Sophomore designated hitter D.J. Cagnina walked, putting runners at the corners, then stole second, and junior third baseman Jonah Place followed with a single to left, scoring two runs. Place took second on the throw and came home to make it 5-0 on a bloop single to center by junior leftfielder Gabe Place. Place stole second and when junior second baseman Eli Janetos singled to center, Place came home and Janetos took second on the throw. Chase followed with a fly ball to right which junior Chauncey Alado couldn’t handle and the three-base error allowed Janetos to score. Lyman walked on a 3-2 pitch, then a wild pitch scored the final run of the inning. McDaniel popped out to shortstop but the damage was done as Marshwood held a commanding 8-0 lead.

“It was early season struggles,” said Stowell. “It was just our second day on a field and the first was also a game, so we haven’t been able to practice. Some of the booted balls were expected, but it way too many mistakes today. Those errors are correctable. The other takeaway I had today is that we weren’t ready when we showed up. We have to be more engaged.”

All eyes were on senior Tre Fletcher when he led off the bottom of the inning. Fletcher, who played at Cheverus, then went to boarding school in New York before returning this year, is a heavily scouted prospect and multiple Major League scouts were in attendance Wednesday.

Fletcher grounded sharply to third and the ball got through Jonah Place for an error. Fletcher then moved to second on a ground out by Hill to second and after senior shortstop Josh Paisley struck out, Fletcher stole third and the throw by Caverly was wild and got past Place, allowing Fletcher to score. Sophomore third baseman Blaine Alves drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to extend the inning, but Smaracko got sophomore first baseman Bennett Berg to watch strike three, ending the first inning with the score 8-1.

The Hawks then tacked on six more runs in the top of the second. 

Jones walked Caverly to start the frame and Smaracko followed with a single to right. That brought up Cagnina, who doubled down the leftfield line, scoring Caverly and putting runners at second and third. Jonah Place then lofted a fly ball to right which Alado appeared to lose in the sun. The ball dropped for a single, scoring Smaracko and putting runners at the corners. After Place stole second, Gabe Place walked on a full count pitch to load the bases. Janetos then grounded to Keast at second, who threw to Paisley for a force out, but Paisley dropped the ball for an error, scoring a run and reloading the bases.

That was it for Jones, who was replaced on the mound by Berg (Jones took first base).

Chase greeted Berg with a sharp single to left to score two runs. After Lyman looked at strike three for the first out, McDaniel’s single scored the final run of the inning. A wild pitch moved the runners up, but Berg avoided further trouble by fanning Caverly and getting Smaracko to ground back to the mound.

Regardless, Marshwood was in command, up 14-1 heading to the bottom of the second.

There, Deering got a run back.

Jonah Place took over on the mound (Smaracko moved to third base) and gave up a leadoff single through the hole off the bat of junior leftfielder Dominic Russo. Russo took second on a wild pitch and went to third when Jones grounded out to second. Alado then bounced out to third and on the play, Russo came home. Junior designated hitter Sam Sparks popped out to third for the final out.

The Hawks scored just once in the top of the third. 

Senior pinch-hitter John Riccardi drew a walk leading off and after Jonah Place and Gabe Place each looked at strike three, Riccardi went to second on a wild pitch and Janetos drew a walk. 

That was it for Berg, who exited in favor of Alado (Berg went to right), who got Chase to pop up behind first. The ball dropped, allowing Riccardi to score to make it 15-2 and on the play, Chase was thrown out at second for the final out of the inning.

In the bottom half, the Rams kept fighting and scored twice.

Fletcher got things started with a single to left. He moved up to second on a passed ball and stayed there when Hill reached on an error. The runners moved up a base on a ground out to third by Paisley and Fletcher came home when Alves grounded into a third-to-short force out. Berg then singled off the glove of Janetos and after Russo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jones drew a walk to score Alves. Alado grounded out to short and Marshwood’s lead was 15-4 after three innings.

The Hawks produced another crooked number in the top of the fourth, doing their damage with two outs.

Lyman grounded out to second and McDaniel struck out swinging, but Caverly doubled down the leftfield line, Smaracko walked and on a 3-2 pitch, senior pinch-hitter Ethan Hammond walked as well to load the bases. With Jonah Place hitting, a wild pitch scored a run, then Place walked with ball four getting away for a wild pitch and another run. Place stole second, then Hammond and Place scored when Gabe Place’s fly ball to left was dropped for an error. Place took second on a wild pitch, Janetos walked and after another wild pitch, Chase struck out to end the frame with the score 19-4.

Senior Tucker Davis came on to pitch in the bottom half and got Sparks to pop out to short to lead off. Fletcher reached on an infield single, then dazzled those on hand by going from first to third when Hill grounded out to third, but Fletcher was stranded when Paisley bounced out to short.

The Hawks added one more run in the top of the fifth.

Lyman walked leading off, then stole second. He went to third on a single by McDaniel. Caverly walked to load the bases and after Keast came on to pitch, a wild pitch scored Lyman to make it 20-4. Keast then struck out Smaracko swinging, senior pinch-hitter Max Weaver popped out to short, where Paisley caught the ball over his shoulder, and junior Cole McShane watched strike three to end it.

Alves walked leading off the bottom half, but Berg’s sharp ground ball resulted in a double play. Russo and Jones then singled to keep the game alive, but freshman pinch-hitter Drew Hamilton bounced out to second to make Marshwood’s 20-4 victory official.

“We bounced back,” Stowell said. “Most games if we get four runs, we’ll be OK.”

The Hawks’ onslaught was paced by three hits from Chase and two apiece from McDaniel and Jonah Place. 

Caverly and Jonah Place both scored three times, while Cagnina, Janetos, Lyman, Gabe Place and Smaracko all touched home plate twice.

Chase and Jonah Place each drove in three runs.

Marshwood stranded nine runners, but stole eight bases.

Jonah Place got the win with his two innings of relief.

Deering was paced by two hits apiece from Fletcher and Russo. Fletcher scored two runs, while Alves and Russo both touched home plate once. Alado, Alves and Jones had one RBI apiece.

The Rams stranded seven runners.

Jones took the loss.

Deering pitchers threw 13 wild pitches and issued 15 bases on balls.

Full swing

Marshwood returns to action Thursday when it welcomes Cheverus in its home opener.

Deering travels to Noble Friday and is eager to put its opener behind it.

“I just told the boys that we have one more day of practice, then we get to come out and play again and have an opportunity to right the ship,” Stowell said. “We aim to go out and Friday and play some good baseball and get on the winning path.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter:@foresports.

Deering senior shortstop Josh Paisley catches a pop-up.

All eyes were on Deering senior centerfielder Tre Fletcher Wednesday. Fletcher, who was watched by many Major League baseball scouts, had two hits and scored twice.

Deering senior Tre Fletcher steals third as the ball gets away from Marshwood third baseman Jonah Place. Fletcher would score the Rams’ first run.

« Previous

Harpswell doubles mooring fees, OKs ice cream stand

Next »

Topsham Police Beat: April 19