Brennan Rumpf accepts congratulations after his eighth-inning walk-off home run in a 4-2 win Saturday against Bonny Eagle. Photo by Steve Craig
FALMOUTH — After Falmouth sophomore Brennan Rumpf lined a two-run homer to left field in the eighth inning Saturday for a 4-2 baseball win against Bonny Eagle, he summed up the game and how it likely foreshadows the upcoming Class A South playoffs.
“That was a dogfight right there. That’s a good team,” Rumpf said. “Can’t take any team lightly. We’ve got to think that every team is a good team and it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Falmouth improved to 11-1, while Bonny Eagle dropped to 3-10. But thanks to the efforts of starting pitcher Nathan Morse and Nick Riker’s two-out, two-run homer to center field in the top of the seventh, Bonny Eagle took Falmouth to extra innings.
Falmouth loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, only to have relief pitcher Mason Ryan strike out Falmouth’s No. 4 and 5 hitters, Ethan Hendry and Dom Tracy.
In the top of the eighth, Bonny Eagle got a pair on with one out against Tracy, who worked 4 1/3 innings in relief.
Rumpf, who had thrown scoreless seventh innings in relief to close out wins against Marshwood and Gorham earlier in the week, relieved Tracy and promptly gave up a single to shallow left by Trevor Perkins that loaded the bases.
Falmouth’s Bennett Smith, who had switched from third to second base when Rumpf went to the mound, made a quick reaction on an infield flare, securing a diving catch. A few pitches later, Hendry, a sophomore and two-year starter at catcher, picked Morse off third.
“Hendry, that was a huge save for us. And that play at second by Bennett. He misses that ball, they score a run and things may not happen the way they happen, and you just got to be grateful for great defense,” Rumpf said.
Smith started the winning rally by lining a one-out single to center off Ryan. That brought up Rumpf, the No. 8 hitter, who was 0 for 3 but had driven in a run with a groundout in the second inning, when Falmouth took a 2-0 lead.
“I’ve been struggling at the plate the last few games. My thought process was just to do a job and get on base. I sure wasn’t thinking of hitting a home run,” Rumpf said. “All the work in the cages and all the work with my coaches paid off, and as soon as it left the bat, I thought ‘That has a chance.'”
For Bonny Eagle, coming off a 5-2 win against Noble, it was the second eight-inning loss to a top team. The Scots lost 1-0 to defending state champion South Portland early in the season. But Ryan, a hard-throwing No. 1 starter, and an improved offense makes Bonny Eagle a dangerous underdog. Ryan also had three hits Saturday, two off Falmouth starter Eli Cowperthwaite, who threw three scoreless innings in a by-design short start.
“We’re a fairly young team. I do think we have talent there. I don’t know if we’re ready to play with the big guys yet, but we keep getting better every day,” said Scots Coach John McGlinn. “And when you’ve got a good arm like Mason and some guys who can swing it a little bit, hopefully that’s what we’re looking for.”
For Falmouth, which has allowed only 11 runs in its 11 wins, “a game like this is invaluable,” said Coach Mike D’Andrea. “All of these moments lead to experience. … You need a game like this to get to the state championship, and that’s our goal.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
