STANDISH — David Swift produced the lead, Liam Hickey protected it, and as a result, Yarmouth will play for the Class B baseball state championship on Saturday afternoon.
Swift hit a three-run home run to give Yarmouth the lead before an out was even recorded in the top of the first, then Hickey scattered six hits and struck out seven, including the final batter, as the second-seeded Clippers beat top-seeded Cape Elizabeth 4-2 in the Class B South final Wednesday evening at Larry Mahaney Diamond at St. Joseph’s College.
Yarmouth (14-5) will battle Old Town at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
“I did nothing today,” said Clippers Coach Marc Halsted. “We didn’t steal, we didn’t drop a bunt, we just hit our way to a win. It’s nice we can play a different game when we need to.”
Yarmouth started with a flourish. Matt Gautreau worked the count full against Capers starter Curtis Sullivan, then blooped a single to center. Andrew Cheever went the other way and singled to right, then, on the first pitch he saw, Swift crushed a drive over the fence in left for a quick 3-0 lead.
“I was just trying to hit something hard,” said Swift. “(Sullivan) put it down the middle and I turned on it. I was just lucky enough to have a good swing.”
The Capers (15-4) answered in the bottom half as Jimmy Hollowell singled home Gabe Harmon.
After Sullivan escaped a jam in the top of the third, Cape Elizabeth cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom half as Charlie Song doubled down the left-field line, scoring Harmon from first.
“All year, this group has been resilient, and Curtis kept us in the ballgame,” said Donny Dutton, Cape’s first-year coach.
The Clippers had two runners thrown out on the bases in the top of the fourth, but in between, Graeme Roux hit a two-out single that drove in Jack Janczuk.
“I was looking to go opposite (field),” Roux said. “I drove in the run, which is what I wanted.”
Hickey did the rest, retiring the side in order in the fourth, working around a one-out double by Sam Lombardo in the fifth, then retiring the final eight batters, including Jameson Bryant on a swinging strike three to end it.
“I wanted to finish it,” said Hickey. “I just pitched to where (Graeme) gave me the sign and the guys did the rest.”
Gautreau, Cheever and Sam Bradford all had two hits.
Lombardo and Song each had two hits for Cape Elizabeth.
“It’s a great group of kids and it just didn’t go our way today,” Dutton said.
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