Baseball: Falmouth blanks Gorham, ejects them from playoffs

FALMOUTH—Gorham’s season came to a close at the Yachtsmen on Tuesday, June 4, when they never quite found a way onto the scoreboard. Falmouth, meanwhile, struck consistently across the game, with one in the first, another in the third, and two in the fifth. 4-0 the final.

“It is no secret that generating offense was difficult for us this season,” Gorham head coach Chuck Nadeau said, “and it got more difficult when we lost Trevor Gray – our best athlete and only returning positional player from 2018 – to mono two weeks ago.” Gray had been playing first base for the Rams.

The Yachtsmen struck in the first on a passed ball, and in the second on a sac fly by Ike Kiely. Their two late-game points came on an errant throw to third, an attempt to pick off the runner there – he promptly zoomed home – and when Garrett Tracy drove down the leftfield line.

Freshman Kyle Skolfield started on the mound for Gorham, and freshman Sean Boylen started opposite him, behind the plate. Senior ace Aaron Goschke stepped in for Skolfield in the fifth.

“We played our best baseball this year with Kyle starting and Aaron finishing – that was our plan,” Nadeau said. “Kyle provided consistently good starts for us this year, and Aaron was immense in closing out big wins for us.”

“We intended to use both guys in this game from the beginning,” Nadeau went on. “As a freshmen, Kyle showed a competitive spirit and poise well beyond what could be expected. He has a bright future. I don’t want to overlook the stability that Sean Boylen provided our team at the catching position either. Sean is a freshmen as well. He and Kyle both play with great enthusiasm for the game, and without fear. I feel really good about the foundation that they provide our program moving forward.”

The Rams did threaten once or twice, it’s important to note. In the top of the fifth, for instance, Gabe Polchies drove a sliding double into the center-right gap. Boylen then walked onto base (Tracy was on the mound for the Yachtsmen), only to find himself caught out at second on a 4-6 fielder’s choice when Kevin Mollison followed him into the box and grounded. Polchies got to third in that time, but Bode Meader, the Rams’ next batter, promptly delivered a grounder straight to first-base for the third out of the stretch.

“Garrett Tracy pitched really well,” Nadeau said. “He was great the first time we face him as well…In 15 innings of baseball vs. Tracy, we scored one run. He gets ahead of hitters, spots his fastball on the outer half and throws a second pitch for a strike consistently. And he competes well in tough situations.”

“The story of the game was Tracy and their ability to get hits following up on our mistakes,” Nadeau reiterated. “Our plan was pretty simple: limit extra baserunners for Falmouth by staying away from walks and errors, and offensively try to create pressure with baserunners. We didn’t execute either aspect really well, but that wasn’t due to lack of effort. Our kids were confident and they prepared well; we just didn’t play great baseball and we were beaten by a better team.”

Gorham went 6-10 in the regular season to enter the playoffs as the 10-seed; they thus retire till next year at 6-11. Falmouth earned themselves the seven-seed on a 10-6 record. The Yachtsmen moved on to upset No. 2 TA in the quarters, before falling to Scarborough in the semis.

Nadeau sounded off on the season: “With loss of Trevor Gray, we played the final two weeks and our playoff game with a completely new nine on the field, compared to our Southern Maine Championship team of 2018. It was one of the more inexperienced teams I have coached. But despite their lack of game experience, they found a way to win big games, secure a playoff spot and compete well in a tournament game. This was a successful season.”

Adam Birt can be reached at abirt@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CurrentSportsME.