WINSLOW — Dominant pitching. Flawless defense. Timely hitting.

The Winslow baseball team had it all Saturday afternoon in a 4-0 victory over Foxcroft Academy in an Eastern B semifinal game.

“It’s kind of how we drew it up,” Winslow coach Jesse LaCasse said. “It’s exactly how we hoped it would go.”

Senior Logan Hewes delivered a key two-run single in the first inning and Dylan Hapworth silenced the Ponies from his first pitch to his last as Winslow earned a trip to the regional final.

The No. 2 Black Raiders (15-3) will play No. 4 Waterville (16-3) at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. No. 3 Foxcroft finished 15-3.

“Our bats came around, we got to them quick and Dylan threw a gem,” Hewes said. “That about summed it up.”

Hapworth struck out 12, allowed just two hits and a walk. He threw 94 pitches, including 61 for strikes. Eight of his strikeouts came on a biting curveball.

“The first inning I wasn’t throwing it for strikes,” he said. “I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ But I kept throwing it and it felt good in the third or fourth inning. I’m pretty confident with the curveball. I just kept the ball down low. Once I get a few runs I feel pretty confident.”

The Raiders jumped on Foxcroft pitcher Kaleb Smith with three runs in the first inning. Gabe Smith worked a seven-pitch walk to lead off the inning before Donald Camp and Hapworth followed with singles to load the bases with no outs.

Kaleb Smith promptly walked Zach Guptill to force in a run, which brought Hewes to the plate with a chance to break the game open a bit. With a drawn-in infield, Hewes lined a single up the middle to score Camp and Hapworth.

“I was sitting curveball and was looking to put it over their heads for a single,” Hewes said.

Kaleb Smith escaped further damage but the three-run deficit proved too much for the Ponies to overcome.

“We came out aggressive in the first inning,” said LaCasse, whose team didn’t make an error. “We got on them early, which set the tone.”

Added Foxcroft coach Mark Chevalier: “When you spot them three runs and you have a pitcher who is throwing the ball like Hapworth was, it was tough to come back. We just couldn’t get much going.”

Hapworth struck out the side in the second and third innings. He took a no-hitter into the fourth inning but Hunter Law spoiled the bid with a bloop single to right. Law stole second and later advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Hapworth struck out Kaleb Smith to end the inning.
The Ponies had just one base runner the rest of the way.

“We ran into a pitcher who had his best stuff,” Chevalier said. “There’s no shame in losing that way. We battled, like we did all year.”

It stayed 3-0 until the sixth inning, when Gabe Smith hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Alex Berard from third base. Berard went 2 for 3, including a double.

Hapworth retired the Ponies in order in the seventh, striking out Forrest Law on a curveball to end the game.

“Dylan gave us exactly what he’s done most of this year,” LaCasse said. “He stepped it up a little bit today. He’s a gamer, no doubt about it. He’s very confident on the mound. The curveball is a tough pitch. It’s been on most of the year but today he was dropping almost every single one of them in for strikes. It was untouchable.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com

Copy the Story Link