BOWDOINHAM — A couple of the more exciting plays in baseball are a base-clearing triple with the bases loaded and the steal of home plate.
Topsham Post 202’s Hunter Lohr accomplished both in front of the home crowd, stealing home in the first inning and clearing the sacks in the fifth to end the game via the mercy rule, lifting Post 202 to an 11-0 victory over Rumford in Senior Legion play Thursday evening at the Bowdoinham Community School.
“I wasn’t able to do it in high school and attempted it once in AAU,” Lohr said of his steal of home. “This was the first time being safe.”
The win improved Post 202’s record to 5-6, while Rumford fell to 1-11.
The home team jumped on Rumford starter Hunter Ames in the bottom of the first. Brunswick’s Cam Daly led off with a walk and promptly stole second. After a single by Lohr, Nick Merrill dropped a hit between the left and center fielders for the first run. A wild throw to second moved Lohr to third.
On the first pitch to the next hitter, Lohr broke for home, diving in safely ahead of the tag.
“When I was standing on second and saw him going from the windup, I knew if he was going to do that when I was on third, I was going to ask coach,” the recent Mt. Ararat graduate said. “I asked him and he said ‘yup.’”
“Hunter is a very aggressive player. He loves the opportunity to steal home. He got to third and looked at me and said ‘Coach, is there an opportunity here?’ and I said, ‘yes there is’ and I gave the batter the take sign, that’s Hunter,” Post 202 coach Jerry Merrill said.
While it was a brief conversation at third base, Lohr had been waiting a long time to get the nod from his Legion coach.
“Back when I coached him in the 12U regionals, he asked me if he could do it and I wouldn’t let him. I told him if we ever get the chance again, we could,” added Merrill.
Brunswick’s Cam Dunton knocked in Nick Merrill with a ground out for the third run of the frame, giving Topsham Post a 3-0 lead after an inning.
Post 202 starter Austin Damon worked around a first-inning error, and after a two-out single to Cody Hemingway in the third, was lifted to keep his pitch count low. Dunton entered the game and nailed down the final out of the inning, stranding the Rumford runner. Other than a fourth-inning single by Ames that dropped in front of Lohr in center, Dunton was efficient, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced.
“Austin got ahead of batters all night and kept his pitch count down and we almost got three innings out of him,” Jerry Merrill said. “Cam came in and did pretty much the same thing and gave us more than I expected. We didn’t have to go to (another arm) and we’re able to keep them fresh for the weekend.”
Post 202 scored a pair of runs when Richmond’s Danny Stewart led off the second by beating out a throw for an infield single, later coming around to score on a Daly groundout. In the third, Nick Merrill doubled and scored off a Dunton single.
“Our pitcher battled really hard out there today and showed a lot of heart” Rumford and longtime Mountain Valley High School head coach Steve LaPointe said about his starter.
Leading 7-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, catcher Trey Booty led off the frame with a double down the left-field line. Brady Mitchell walked and a Rumford error on a fielder’s choice plated Booty. Eli Ouellette walked to load the bases and after an Ames strikeout, Lohr ended the contest with a slicing ball to right field over the outfielder’s head that emptied the bases. Lohr had missed some time recently.
“We missed him, and of course after missing a couple of weeks it takes some time to get back into the swing of things,” Coach Merrill said as Lohr was not in the lineup while attending college orientation at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania recently. “He’s a big piece for us defensively and offensively, it’s good to have him back.”
Lohr, a football standout at Mt. Ararat, will attend the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic activities and play in the 30th football All-Star game pitting some of the state’s best graduating high school seniors on July 20 at Thornton Academy in Saco. As he misses some more time from his teammates, he is enjoying playing with some of the other local athletes.
“This is an awesome group of guys, obviously the best from around where we are, so it’s always fun playing with other players and coaches and learn different perspectives,” Lohr said. “Everyone here loves the game and that’s why we all play.”
It was a tough loss for Rumford, but LaPointe and his squad battled until the end.
“One of our goals this year is not to forfeit,” LaPointe said. “We have some players missing, but our guys here show up and are ready to play, they really love baseball.”
For Topsham, the team is starting to hit its stride and will take its fresh arms and winning ways to Saturday’s home doubleheader against Marshwood in Bowdoinham, beginning at 11 a.m.
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