TOPSHAM — As debuts go, this one couldn’t go much smoother for Mt. Ararat sophomore pitcher Stanley Spooner.

Spooner, in his first varsity start, shut down potent Oxford Hills as the Eagles prevailed 2-1 in a Class A North showdown Tuesday afternoon.

Spooner struck out three and induced 10 ground ball outs in a complete-game effort. He didn’t walk anyone.

“Stan did exactly what Stan does; he goes out and throws strikes,” said Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 2-3. “It helps our defense a little bit knowing that he is going to go out and throw strikes and be around the strike zone making them putting the ball in play.”

Shea Farrell’s RBI single in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 game and helped secure the much-needed victory. Mt. Ararat was coming off a loss to Messalonskee on Monday in which it made six errors in the first three innings.

“After a tough loss (Monday) where we made some errors, we came out (Tuesday) saying, ‘let’s not let one error turn into two,’ and we minimized that,” Chase said.

Added Spooner: “We talked before the game; if we make an error, flush it and get the next one.”

He also knew he needed to throw strikes.

“Pound the zone and win,” added the righty.

Mt. Ararat struck first in the second inning after a leadoff single and a Vikings miscue. Parker Lohr then hit into a double play that plated Andrew Clemons that gave Mt. Ararat a 1-0 lead.

Brady Merrill and Jesse Bowker each followed with singles but were stranded as Oxford Hills starter Nick Binette settled down to retire the next eight batters.

Oxford Hills pulled even in the top of the fifth after Cam Pulkkinen singled and Gabe Damon followed with an infield hit. Carter Holbrook later hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 1-1 game.

In the bottom half of the fifth, Bowker hit a one-out double and moved to third on a Dash Farrell sacrifice bunt. Shea Farrell then hit a single to plate Bowker for the eventual game-winning run.

Spooner retired seven of the last eight hitters, working around an infield error in the seventh to secure the victory.

“He pitched a good game,” Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer said about the righty. “He pounded the strike zone pretty good. He battled.”

Slicer added that the Vikings had their chances.

“They made enough mistakes in the field, but we didn’t capitalize,” he said.  “We hit the ball, but not enough or at people. We need to score more than one run.”

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