TOPSHAM POST 202 earned its first victory of the season with a 6-2 win over Freeport in Junior Legion baseball action at Freeport High School on Wednesday. Pictured above, Ty Knowlton slides into third base as Freeport’s Gardy Converse prepares to take the throw before tagging him out. On the right, Topsham starter Trey Booty lets a pitch fly during the third inning of the game. ERIC MAXIM / THE TIMES RECORD
FREEPORT
If a team can put good hitting with good pitching, along with a solid defensive game, they usually come out on top. For the Topsham Post 202 Junior Legion team, it has been a struggle putting all of those ingredients together in its first six games.
On Wednesday evening, Topsham received solid pitching, timely hitting and made the plays defensively to beat the Southern Maine Falcons of Freeport, 6-2 at Freeport High School.
“Finally put it together,” Topsham assistant coach Chris Hickman said of the team’s first win of the year in seven tries. “Between the pitching and the defense, the kids really stepped it up tonight. Limiting the errors really helped us. We didn’t make as many errors tonight as we have in previous games.”
Trey Booty and Coenradt Taylor combined to limit Freeport to just three hits, totalling seven strikeouts and four walks in the win. Booty gave up two hits, including a long home run by Freeport catcher Gabe Wagner.
“I had good command on my fastball tonight and my curveball was good,” Booty said. “Felt good to get in a rhythm on the mound.”
Topsham scored in the top half of the first inning when Freeport starter Toby Holt walked Eli Ouellette to start the game. Holt retired the next two hitters with strikeouts, but not before a stolen base and a pair of wild pitches moved Ouellette around the bases for the first run of the game.
The visitors struck again in the second, after two quick groundouts to shortstop, Holt hit Holden Brannan and Brunswick’s Cam Daly roped an RBI double to right-center, scoring Brannan. Austin Berry promptly dropped in a single in shallow left field to score Daly, giving Topsham a 3-0 lead.
“That’s key scoring those runs early,” Hickman said. “That set us up. Runs really haven’t been an issue for us.”
Freeport got a run back in the fourth inning as Wagner hit a home run that Daly could only just turn and watch as it sailed over the right field fence.
FREEPORT’S HEATH COCKBURN fires to first base as Topsham’s Caleb Tibbitts was caught in a rundown between first and second base in a junior legion baseball game in Freeport. ERIC MAXIM / TIMES RECORD STAFF
“Trey learned from that inside fastball, that kid really crushed it,” Hickman said.
“As soon as I released it and saw it on the inside of the plate, I knew he was going to crush it,” Booty said. “We’ve played against him in Babe Ruth, he’s always been a good hitter.”
Blaine Cockburn relieved Holt in the fourth and kept Topsham off the board in the frame. However, over the final three innings, Topsham tallied a run in each inning, getting unearned runs in each of the final two.
“Baseball is a beautiful game when you do the little stuff, against Yarmouth last Saturday, we did that and shut them out,” Freeport coach Peter Wagner said. “Then a night like this. Little things got them three runs and that totally changes things. Plus, we didn’t help ourselves by only getting three hits.”
Cockburn pitched four innings, struck out four, allowing one hit and walking one.
“Both those boys are blessed with great baseball IQ and are fierce competitors,” Wagner said of brothers Blaine and Heath Cockburn. “We’re blessed here in Freeport to have some good young arms.”
Meanwhile, following an unearned run by Freeport in the fifth off Booty, the Topsham pitching and defense kept their momentum. Taylor relieved Booty in the sixth and other than a single by Blaine Cockburn, the righty kept Freeport from scoring, striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh, working around a pair of walks to nail down the save.
“ Tonight we got two pitching performances that I am very proud of,” Hickman said of his duo on the hill.
Lukas Holden and Berry each had a pair of hits for Topsham in the win. Caden Benedict had Freeport’s remaining hit. Topsham is now 1-6 and is scheduled to travel to Cheverus High School for a game today at 5:30 p.m. Freeport falls to 2-4 and is scheduled to play next on Monday, also at Cheverus (5:30 p.m.).
Topsham 202 6, Freeport 2
At Freeport High School
Topsham — 120 011 1 — 6 5 2
Freeport — 000 110 0 — 2 3 2
Trey Booty, Coenradt Taylor (6) and
Ty Knowlton; Toby Holt, Blaine Cockburn (4) and Gabe Wagner.
WP — Booty; LP — Holt; SV — Taylor. Double — (T) Cam Daly.
Home run — (F) Gabe Wagner.
Repeat Hitters — (T) Lukas Holden,
Austin Berry.
Records — Topsham Post 202 1-6;
Freeport 2-4.
Up next for Topsham Post 202 —
Today at Cheverus High School, 5:30
p.m.
Up next for Freeport — Monday at
Cheverus High School, 5:30 p.m.
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