POLAND — It took half the season, but the Cape Elizabeth bats woke up and the Capers finally earned their first win, which came at Poland’s expense Wednesday.
The Capers pounded out 15 hits and scored more runs Wednesday than they had in their first eight games combined, using a pair of five-run frames to down the Knights 12-1 in six innings.
“We swung the bats like we haven’t swung it yet,” said Capers (1-8) coach Glenn Reeves, whose team entered Wednesday’s game having scored 11 total runs and no more than two in any previous game.
The game was tied 1-1 after one inning when the Capers strung together four straight two-out hits to go up 6-1. The Capers were able to hold onto that momentum as starting pitcher Ryan Oberholtzer threw three hitless innings in the second through fourth frames.
“In the first inning we did scratch the run, but I think they got us early, and then they responded back to our run and I think that took a lot of momentum out of our sails,” Poland coach Charles Pray said.
The Knights (2-9) subbed in Adrien Melanson at pitcher for starter Dylan Sellinger in the third, and the senior was able to keep the Capers scoreless for a couple innings before they added another run in the top of the fifth.
Pray said the Capers had “timed (Sellinger) up pretty well” in his two innings of work.
Reeves said despite his team’s seemingly safe lead he wasn’t comfortable until the final out, and the threat the Knights displayed in the bottom of the fifth was a big example why.
Melanson led off with a double (the first hit Oberholtzer allowed since the first inning), Gawain Tibbetts walked and Hunter Gibson bunted for a single to load the bases with nobody out. But Oberholtzer fought back with his first strikeout of the game and then got out of the jam with a squeeze-bunt attempt that was popped up for an inning-ending double play.
“You know, I was expecting two runs that inning and we got out of it with zero, so that was tremendous,” Reeves said.
“It’s one of those things, definitely looking for a couple runs to close the gap and I think the boys did feel a little deflated when they came in,” Pray said.
Cape Elizabeth put the game away with another five-run frame in the next half-inning. Mike Mackenzie led off with a single that started a string of five-consecutive batters reaching, which included Jameson Bakke reaching on a wild-pitch third strike that scored one of the runs. Bakke had doubled twice and singled in his first three at-bats to lead the Capers’ offense. Mackenzie, Sean O’Sullivan and Colin Smith each had two hits.
“Hats off to them,” Pray said. “They put the ball in play and made us make the plays, and we couldn’t make all the plays we needed to. But good teams put the ball in play and make things happen, and that’s exactly what they did.”
The Knights tried to extend the game to a seventh inning with singles by Sellinger and Colby Bell (two hits in the game) in the bottom of the sixth, but Oberholtzer picked up his second strikeout and then a fielder’s choice ended the game.
“He had a good fastball, good slider going today, so he was in control,” Reeves said. “Limited walks, so that’s the secret. Pitch to contact.”
Oberholtzer scattered six hits and walked just one batter.
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