GORHAM – It would have been understandable if the Gorham baseball team went out in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s game with Sanford and gave up.
After all, the Rams had given up a three-run lead in the top of the seventh inning and instead of leaving the field with their first win of the season on a cold and foggy day, they found themselves facing a 5-3 deficit. But the Rams took advantage of some untimely Sanford walks and some timely hits to rally back and pull out a 6-5 win on a walkoff single from first baseman Damon Wallace.
After the game, Gorham Head Coach Chuck Nadeau said he was happy to see his team come out on the winning end, especially after the lows and highs of the wild final inning.
“(I’m) just proud of the kids. It was tough to give up that lead in the end and not finish it. Sanford did a really good job of staying in there,” Nadeau said. “Hopefully this is what this group needs, a good win like that.”
Mark Ridgeway picked up the win for Gorham. He pitched just one-third of an inning, coming in for Gorham starter Mike Arsenault, who ran into trouble in the seventh. The Redskins’ Jordan Dorr was tagged for the loss. Sanford sophomore starter Ryan Camire, who allowed four runs in six innings of work, did not figure in the decision.
The Rams held a 3-1 lead from the fourth inning on as Gorham, who had been having trouble with Arsenault all game, finally figured out the Redskin pitcher and touched him for three runs on three hits in the inning. Zach Speirs, who led the Rams with three RBIs in the game, had two in the fourth with a long double and Seth Wing knocked in the Rams’ other run on a fielder’s choice.
Things seemed to be going smoothly for the Rams until the Redskin bats woke up in the top of the seventh. Matt Ranberg led off with a single and then after Dan Reed flew out to center, Sanford strung together five straight hits, which led to four runs, and all of a sudden, the Rams had to bat in the bottom of the seventh down by two.
Gorham got things started quickly in the inning as Wing drew a walk off reliever Ryan Graffam and then Chris Hardy, who was pinch-hitting for designated hitter Sean Kiplinger, got a base hit to short left field, moving Wing to second.
But then it seemed that the Redskins were going to be able to kill off the Gorham rally as Dorr came in and got Alex Owens and Spencer LaPierre to strike out and all of a sudden, the Rams were down to their last out.
That’s when the Gorham bats got hot once again.
Brendon Joyce loaded the bases with a solid single to right, and then Dorr’s control failed him at exactly the wrong time as he walked Steve Broy and Zach Speirs in succession to force in two runs and tie the score at 5-5.
Wallace then stepped to the plate with a chance to win the game and he delivered, stroking a big single to center field that drove in Joyce with the game-winning run to cap off the rally and give the Rams the 6-5 win.
Sanford Head Coach Mark Boissonneault said while the loss was tough to take, he knew that his team gave it their all. “No matter what the outcome is, I’m very proud of my kids,” he said. “They battled for seven innings, we just didn’t get the breaks we needed today.”
Boissonneault also praised his sophomore starting pitcher, saying he put the Redskins in position to win the game. “Ryan Camire did a great job today and kept them off balance,” he said.
Nadeau agreed with the Sanford coach’s assessment of Camire. “I felt like we’d score more runs today,” he said. “Their pitcher did a really good job of keeping us off balance. He didn’t walk a lot of guys, he made us put it in play and our defense was really good. In the end, we did just enough, I guess.”
Nadeau added he was pleased with how his team kept battling, even after giving up the lead so late in the game.
“Sometimes it’s hard with young athletes to keep yourself focused on the job ahead when you’ve had a disappointing inning,” he said. “And that’s what I’m most proud of is that these guys went out and they put good at-bats together when they needed to and they made the other team finish it, which was nice. In the end, we were the ones that came up with the big hits and had some really good patient at-bats at the end to put pressure on them and it was a big offensive inning for us.”
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