2005 Game Detail

Gorham sharp in debut (4/15/2005) - Gorham 8 at Greely 0

By TOM CHARD Staff Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
CUMBERLAND — Friday might have been the opening day for high school baseball, but Gorham, bolstered by a preseason trip, appeared in midseason form. The Rams, who played four exhibitions two weeks ago in North Carolina, rolled to an 8-0 victory over Greely in a Western Maine Conference game.

Mark Schmidt, a junior left-hander, pitched a three-hitter and struck out 10, relying on an overpowering fastball and sharp-breaking curve.

Schmidt pitched a complete game, throwing more than 100 pitches on a chilly day.

"I was very comfortable with his pitch count," said Gorham Coach Rocky Myers. "Mark threw enough this winter to get his arm in shape. Plus he threw a lot in preseason. Our defense didn´t have too much to do with Schmidt out there."

Schmidt struggled in only one inning, walking the bases full in the second. He struck out the side in the fifth and the seventh.

"I was able to place my fastball and curve where I wanted to," said Schmidt, who had two hits, including an RBI double in the first. "It was good to have some velocity on my pitches."

Schmidt throws in the mid-80s.

After returning from North Carolina, where a highlight was watching the Final Four in the Dean Dome at Chapel Hill, Gorham played three more exhibitions.

"The North Carolina trip got us ready for the season," said Myers. "It´s something the team looks forward to."

Gorham spoiled Greely´s first game on its new field. The complex, located off Greely Road, also has softball and football fields and was donated by the Blanchard family of Cumberland. The baseball field soon will have dugouts and a scoreboard.

It was just as well for Greely that the scoreboard wasn´t up. The Rams did all the scoring.

Gorham scored two runs in the first, two in the fourth, then four in the sixth, when Greely let two high infield pops drop.

In the fourth, Gorham showed the depth of its offense when Jake Blaisdell, who bats seventh, hit a towering two-run homer over the fence in left-center.

"He committed himself to working out this winter," said Myers. "He´s a hockey player like Schmidt. Jake worked hard in the off-season and it shows."

Blaisdell´s homer scored Schmidt, who led off with a sharp single to right.

In the first, Scott MacDonald walked and Rob Tole reached on an error. After a strikeout, MacDonald scored from third, easily beating the throw home after a putout at first. Schmidt then ripped a ground-rule double to right-center, scoring Tole.

The Rams scored their four runs after two were out in the sixth. MacDonald was hit by a pitch, then stole second. Tole walked. Ben Thayer´s towering fly ball between third and short dropped, scoring a run.

Chris Donaldson singled to left for two runs and John Burnheimer´s pop fell in between first and second for the fourth run.

After playing seven exhibitions to get ready for their opener, the Rams won´t play another regular-season game until after school vacation next week.

"That´s the Western Maine Conference schedule," said Myers.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Name	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SAC	HBP	SO	SB	PO	A	E
Alley, Jon	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Bell, Joe	3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0
Burke, Kevin	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0
D'Alessandro, Chris	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D'Alessandro, Michael	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Green, Sam	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Lanphear, Corey	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Martin, Chris	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	10	0	0
McDonough, Matthew	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Morse, Stephen	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0
Robinson, Brad	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Robinson, Christian	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	6	0	0
Valente, Paul	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
TOTALS	26	22	0	3	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	11	0	20	14	3

Name	GS	CG	Sho	W	L	S	H	IP	AB	R	H	SO	BB	HB	WP	ER
Alley, Jon	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.0	18	4	6	6	1	0	0	3
Green, Sam	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	9	4	2	4	3	1	0	0
Valente, Paul	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
TOTALS							0	7.0	31	8	8	10	5	1	0	3