It finally felt like spring last Thursday afternoon for new Westbrook High baseball coach Mike Rutherford, as his team defeated Cape Elizabeth 9-1 in an exhibition game. The sun was shining and the air was warm, though Rutherford kept a winter cap handy to deal with those formidable gusts of wind blowing off the coast at Cape Elizabeth High School.

“We played yesterday at South Portland and it felt like it was 10 degrees,” Rutherford said after the game. “It was miserable. We ended up losing 2-0, but there were only three hard-hit balls all game. It was not a good day for baseball. It was good to get out yesterday. Our pitching staff did well, but nobody hit. Today, it’s a little warmer and you saw the bats come alive.”

Christian Hamilton knocked a three-run homer to center field and Zach Collett stroked a two-run shot for the Blue Blazes. Hamilton pitched four innings of one-hit ball and Chad Egland, Mark Dvilinsky and Josh Harriman were all solid in relief for Westbrook.

“I’m very impressed with the pitching staff,” Rutherford said.

The Blue Blazes have a packed exhibition schedule this preseason, as Rutherford is trying to evaluate his team before opening day.

“Being that it’s my first year, and having guys compete for positions, I have to see them play,” he said. “Practice is one thing, but I’ve scheduled so many exhibitions because I want to see these guys play. Next year, I won’t play as many exhibitions. I’ll want to practice more. But this year, I need as many games as I can get.”

Rutherford coached at Portland for 16 years – 12 as the head coach – before stepping down after the 2006 season. He led the Bulldogs, perennial Telegram League contenders, to one state championship and three Western Maine Class A titles. He said he’s excited about the challenge and opportunity he has at Westbrook.

“It’s a fun challenge, it really is,” Rutherford said. “The challenge of getting Westbrook to where Portland and Deering and Bangor are – that’s my challenge. So every year they say, ‘Portland, Deering, Bangor … Westbrook.’ Instead of Westbrook being good one out of every five years, I want us good every year.”

While the ultimate goals for the program are lofty, Rutherford knows it is necessary to start with the basics. After a routine out on Thursday, he went out onto the field, huddled up his infielders and gave them a stern talking to.

“I’m big on playing the game the right way,” he said. “When we get an out, we throw the ball around the infield the right way. There’s a way we do it, and they didn’t do it that way. There are little things – talent will take us where we’re going to go. But you can always throw the ball around the infield. You can always do the little things that don’t have anything to do with athletic ability.”

Rutherford lauded the work of former Westbrook coach John Eisenhart, who stepped down last season after five years on the job, but said every coach has his own system, his own way of doing things. And it can take a while to instill that into players.

“My Portland kids, after 16 years, were used to what I did,” he said. “I didn’t have to teach them. I had them all summer (with Legion baseball). I’m teaching everything to these kids for the first time.”

The Blue Blazes haven’t had a chance to work on base running or offensive strategy, Rutherford said.

“But pitching,” he said before pausing and grinning. “If I get pitching like this, I can build the other stuff.”

Across the diamond, Cape coach Chris Hayward was glad to be outside and competing. It was the second scrimmage under good conditions for the Capers.

“We scrimmaged Winslow on Tuesday and it was nice,” Hayward said. “We’re far ahead of where we were last year. It’s good to be outside and make some mistakes. We’ve got to remember that we’re going to make some mistakes, and learn by them, so that we’re ready to go when the season starts.”

Hayward said scrimmaging tough Class A teams like Westbrook is good for the Class B Capers because it shows his players there is plenty of room for improvement.

“We want to make sure that the kids see that there possibly are better teams out there, and see what they do to carry themselves and prepare themselves so that we can follow that lead,” he said. “You don’t want to get complacent and win all your exhibitions and think you’re good to go. You get complacent and you’re going to get beat.”

If the Capers can find reliable offensive production, the coach is confident they’ll be in for a good season.

“We’re pitching the ball well and we’re fielding the ball pretty well,” Hayward said. “We’ve got to be able to hit the ball consistently to be at the top level where we want to be.”

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