AUBURN—Don’t look now, but the Greely Rangers have the rest of the Class B South baseball playoff field set up right where they want it.
Having to deal with an under-hyped Greely squad that is playing its best ball when it matters most.
Tuesday afternoon, the sixth-seeded Rangers “hosted” No. 11 York far from their home field, as poor field conditions at Twin Brook Recreation Center moved the teams’ preliminary round contest to the turf at Central Maine Community College and while it took awhile for Greely to get comfortable, it eventually did just that.
Greely could only manage one hit the first time through the order against York junior starting pitcher Ben Brown, while Rangers sophomore starter Keeler Vogt danced a tightrope in his first four innings, stranding five Wildcats.
Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Greely broke through, taking a 2-0 lead, as leftfielder Ryder Simpson singled home second baseman Sam Almy and shortstop Marky Axelsen came in to score on a ground out by designated hitter Mason Kelso.
York scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth, but in the bottom half, Simpson walked with the bases loaded to drive in a run, then Kelso broke the game open with a two-run single and the Rangers went on to a 5-1 victory.
Kelso finished with three runs batted in, Simpson drove in a pair and finished the game in relief as Greely improved to 10-7, ended York’s season at 9-8 and advanced to meet No. 3 Wells (11-5) Thursday at 4 p.m. in the quarterfinals at Wells.
“We’ve had good success in the years we’ve played a prelim,” said longtime Rangers coach Derek Soule. “You saw in the first three innings, it took us awhile, so it’s nice to have a prelim game to get the nerves out. I’m pleased where we’re at. We’ve played really well down the stretch.”
You’re playing where?
Greely has played its share of postseason games away from Cumberland, but those have largely been regional or state finals in Standish or Bangor.
After last weekend’s rains left Twin Brook unplayable for Tuesday, Rangers athletic director David Shapiro had to find an alternative location and CMCC was the solution.
That meant the game would be played on an artificial turf field, which meant truer hops on ground balls, but also the ball moving faster once it hit the turf.
“We didn’t really have time to prepare for this,” Soule said. “We hadn’t played on artificial grass all year. We had scheduled a preseason game at Lewiston, but it got cancelled because of cold. The one thing about this is that it did feel like a unique setting. It had a special playoff feel to it.”
Greely and York entered the playoffs with low seeds, but both were viewed as dangerous.
The Rangers, a regional finalist last spring, have been up-and-down this season (see sidebar, below, for links to previous game stories), winning their opener, dropping a pair, winning five of six, then after losing four out of five, closing with a pair of victories to earn the No. 6 seed.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, followed a similar script, winning twice to start the season, then losing six of seven before closing on a 6-1 surge.
The teams met just once this spring, May 10 in York, where Greely rolled to an 11-1 (five-inning) victory, as Vogt dominated the on hill, Almy homered and Axelsen and Cam Irish both had a pair of hits for the Rangers, while the Wildcats got a home run from Brad Carr.
Greely and York had played three previous times in the tournament (see sidebar), with the Rangers holding a 2-1 edge.
The most recent meeting resulted in an 11-2 Greely victory in the 2015 Western B semifinals.
Tuesday, on an overcast and breezy afternoon (64 degrees and dropping at first pitch), the Rangers would advance, but not without some anxious moments.
Greely sophomore starter Keeler Vogt delivers a strike in the first inning of the Rangers’ 5-1 win over York in Tuesday’s Class B South preliminary round contest. Hoffer photos.
The Wildcats had a chance to break through in the top of the first when junior shortstop Brody Gullison was hit by a pitch and stole second, but after Brown struck out swinging, sophomore rightfielder John Jacobsohn grounded out to short to move Gullison to third, then Vogt escaped the jam by getting sophomore centerfielder Jack Joyce to ground out to third on a bang-bang play.
York starter Ben Brown delivers a pitch to Greely catcher Wyatt Soucie.
Brown set the Rangers down in order in the bottom half, getting catcher Wyatt Soucie to ground out to first unassisted, fanning Almy and inducing a ground out to second off the bat of Axelsen.
York threatened again in the top of the second and again came up empty.
Carr, the sophomore catcher, led off with a single to right on a 3-2 pitch, then stole second before moving to third on a ground out to second off the bat of senior first baseman Jake Fogg. Junior designated hitter Leo Sullivan then drew a walk and was run for by junior Jakob Bergeron, but both runners would be stranded, as sophomore third baseman Conor Fell popped out to second on the first pitch he saw, then Vogt got freshman second baseman Robbie Hanscom to line out to Axelsen at short.
Simpson led off the bottom half by drawing a walk, but he was erased when Kelso hit into a short-to-second force out. Dan Ferrelli came on to run for Kelso, but after Irish, the third baseman, lined out to right, Ferrelli was thrown out by Carr attempting to steal to end the frame.
Vogt started the top of the third by falling behind Gullison 3-0, but he battled back full and struck him out. Vogt then followed the same script against Brown, fanning him as well on a full count pitch. After plunking Jacobsohn with a pitch, Vogt fell behind Joyce 3-1 before coming back to catch him looking at a 3-2 offering to strike out the side.
Greely produced its first hit off Brown in the bottom half, but had nothing to show for it.
After first baseman Alex Gamache struck out swinging, Ethan Robeck singled to right on an 0-2 pitch, but Robeck was thrown out trying to steal and when Brown fanned Vogt, he had faced the minimum through three innings.
The Wildcats then had a golden opportunity to get the jump in the top of the fourth when Carr led off with a double down the leftfield line and Fogg followed with a perfectly placed bunt single down the third base line to put runners at the corners with no one out, but in the biggest play of the game so far, Vogt picked Carr off third and while Fogg got to second, then took third when Sullivan bounced out to first, he’d be stranded when Fell hit a pop foul behind the plate and Soucie made a nice sprawling catch to retire the side.
The Rangers then went on top for good in the bottom half.
Soucie set the tone by hitting a rocket up the middle, but it was snared in self defense by Brown for the first out. Almy then got things going by drawing a walk and Axelsen singled up the middle to put runners at first and second. That brought up Simpson, who lined a single into right and Almy slid home with the game’s first run, while Axelsen took third on the play.
Greely second baseman Sam Almy scores the game’s first run while York catcher Brad Carr looks on.
Kelso hit a potential inning-ending double play to short, but York only managed to get the force out at second and on the play, Axelsen raced home with another run.
“I was a little worried, then I remembered if I hit anything, I had to bust out as fast as I could,” Kelso said.
After Irish kept the inning alive by drawing a walk, Gamache grounded the ball up the middle where Gullison scooped it up and tagged the bag to retire the side, but Greely was ahead, 2-0.
The Wildcats got a run back in the top of the fifth, with a little help.
After Hanscom grounded out to second, Gullison reached on a wild throw from Irish. Brown followed with a single through the hole between first and second to put two on. Jacobsohn hit a potential double play grounder to short, but after Axelsen threw to Almy for the force out, the throw to first got away and that allowed Gullison to come home. Jacobsohn stole second, putting the tying run in scoring position, and Joyce drew a walk to bring Carr to the plate. Vogt then preserved the 2-1 lead by getting Carr to ground weakly to third, where Irish stepped on the bag to retire the side.
York catcher Brad Carr grounds out for the final out of the top of the fifth inning.
“That was a big play,” said Soule. “The pickoff was a huge play too. Defensively, those were the two key moments.”
The Rangers then got some breathing room in the bottom half, thanks to some familiar and unfamiliar names.
Robeck led off and reached on a throwing error by Gullison. Jerik Phillips came on to run and stole second before Wes Piper drew a bases on balls.
That was it for Brown, who switched positions with Joyce, who came in to pitch. Soucie greeted Joyce with a nice squeeze bunt to move the runners over, but when Almy struck out, it appeared Greely might come up empty.
It wasn’t to be, as Axelsen was walked intentionally to load the bases, bringing up Simpson, who drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch, then exulted loudly before taking first, as his base on balls scored Phillips.
Greely’s Ryder Simpson takes ball four with the bases loaded to drive in a critical insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“That was just a relief to get that run on the board,” said Simpson. “Playoff games are a ton of energy. I love it. I think we just got more patient and focused. We swung at some bad pitches the first time through.”
“That was a big at-bat,” Soule said. “I love to see that kind of passion and fire. This game obviously meant something to these guys and you see that passion pouring out of (Ryder).”
That set the stage for Kelso, who lined a shot to the gap in left-center for a two-run single, bringing home Piper and Axelsen for a 5-1 lead.
“I was looking for a fastball,” said Kelso. “(Joyce) was wild during the at-bats before me. He threw the first strike and I knew he’d come back with it, so I just sat on it. I knew it would drop. It felt good to get that hit.”
Kelso was sidelined most of the season, but his return makes an already deep team even stronger.
“I was out with a dislocated knee and I got back a few games ago,” said Kelso. “It took me the first couple games to get my timing down, but now, I’m seeing more pitches and getting into it.”
“It’s awesome to have (Mason) back, hitting right behind me,” said Simpson.
“Getting Mason back is like a big free agent pickup or a trade at the deadline,” Soule added. “He can swing the bat. That was a big hit that gave us some big insurance runs.”
Irish struck out to end the inning, but the damage was done.
Fogg led off the sixth with an infield single down the third base line, but Vogt got Sullivan to watch strike three, then induced a pop out to short off the bat of Fell for the second out.
Soule then pulled Vogt for Simpson and Simpson got Hanscom to ground out to second for the final out.
In the bottom half, Zach Vanni pinch-hit and drew a walk, then Owen Piesik came on to run, but the Rangers wouldn’t score again, as after rightfielder Sam Carter sacrificed, Liam Coull, who had come on to play leftfield, grounded to short to move Piesik to third, then Soucie flew out deep to left for the third out.
That set the stage for Simpson to close it out in the top of the seventh and he would do so by getting both Gullison and Brown to watch strike three before inducing a liner off the bat of Jacobsohn, right at Gamache at first, to bring the curtain down on the 5-1 victory.
“It was a different experience, but it was good to play on turf,” said Kelso. “A good day overall.”
Greely only managed four hits, but produced five runs. Axelsen touched home twice, while Almy, Philips and Piper scored one run apiece.
Kelso drove in three runs, while Simpson had two RBI.
The Rangers stranded five base runners.
Vogt was solid in his first playoff start, earning the win after giving up one unearned run on just five hits in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
“It was definitely different than what I’m used to, but I’ve pitched on turf before in travel ball, so I just came here and wanted to get the win,” said Vogt. “It took a little while to get used to it. I went to a lot of 3-0 counts, but I just battled back. I’m used to that at this point. I know I have a great defense behind me that I can trust. If I get them to hit a ground ball, I know it’ll be an out. My fastball was working. My change-up and curveball weren’t as good.”
“Keeler struggled with first-pitch strikes and had to work from behind, but he grinded it out,” Soule said. “I’m very proud of him for his first career playoff start. He kept battling back. It’s the only time all year he didn’t have his breaking ball, but he had a great fastball.”
Simpson closed it out with 1.1 innings of hitless, scoreless ball, fanning two.
“It looks like I might be in the closer role and that’s how I want it, coming in with the pressure high,” Simpson said.
York’s offense featured two hits apiece from Carr and Fogg and a run from Gullison, but the Wildcats left eight runners on base.
Brown took the loss, giving up four runs (two earned) on three hits in four-plus innings. He walked four and struck out three.
Joyce gave up an unearned run on one hit in two innings of relief, walking three and fanning two.
Wells awaits
Greely lost, 4-1, at home to Wells April 20.
The Rangers won two of three prior playoff meetings with the Warriors, with a 3-0 victory in the 2021 semifinals the most recent.
“I think we have what it takes to make a run,” said Kelso. “We have a lot of potential. I think we can go a long way.”
“We’re always dangerous,” Vogt said. “Even games we didn’t win this year, we were in them.”
“We’re so excited,” Simpson said. “It’s lined up for us to play teams that beat us in the regular season.”
“This is as healthy as we’ve been and this is as healthy as we’ll get,” added Soule. “(Centerfielder) Jackson (Leding) won’t be allowed to hit and Mason won’t be allowed to play the field, but together, they make a great player.
“We’ve been a much better road team than home team this year. Wells has been a real surprise from start to finish. They’re a solid team. We didn’t know what to expect when we played them earlier in the season. There’s no overlooking them now. We know how talented they are and we know what kind of pitcher (Spencer) Carpenter is. He’s the Conference Pitcher of the Year, so we’ll have our hands full.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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