TOPSHAM — Leaving runners stranded on base has been a struggle for the Mt. Ararat baseball team in the early portion of the season. In Wednesday’s game against Skowhegan, though, it was no issue at all.

Every player in the lineup reached base, and all but one either scored or drove in a run as Mt. Ararat beat Skowhegan 13-3 in six innings.

“We just put the ball in play and good things happened for us,” said senior Andrew Clemons, who knocked in two runs and pitched a complete game.

Besides their success at the plate — boosted by four hits from junior left fielder Tyler Thibeault — the Eagles (3-1) took advantage of Skowhegan’s mistakes on the base paths. The River Hawks (1-2) also struggled on the mound, as four pitchers combined to walk nine batters and throw four wild pitches. Mt. Ararat scored seven runs on four hits in the final two innings.

How it happened

• Clemons hit three of the first six batters he faced, while the other three hit singles. Skowhegan quickly took a 2-0 lead before the right-hander ended the inning with a strikeout. Clemons only allowed two more hits after that, however, and did not issue a walk. He finished with five strikeouts.

“He battled through,” Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase said. “Again, had a tough time locating his changeup early, hit a couple guys with his changeup, and then we talked about placement, starting his pitch outside a little further. But he did a great job finding it, getting back home to the form that he’s used to.”

• Mt. Ararat recorded 10 hits and Skowhegan made four errors, consistently keeping at least one runner in scoring position. The Eagles led 4-2 after two innings and 4-3 after the third, but started to create separation in the fourth. The home team scored on all four wild pitches, tagged up on three sacrifice flies and stole four bases, including two directly off walks.

“We tell our guys to run until you’re stopped,” Chase said. “We want to make sure that we’re putting pressure on the defense as much as we possibly can. We’ve got a bunch of guys, super athletic on the team, so yeah, we like to run.”

Statistical leaders

• Mt. Ararat: Andrew Clemons (1 for 2, two RBI, walk; 6 IP, five hits, two ER, five strikeouts), Tyler Thibeault (4 for 4, three runs, RBI, two stolen bases), Ethan Berry (1 for 2, two runs, two RBI, walk), Jesse Bowker (2 for 5, run, two RBI)

• Skowhegan: Trevor Austin (1 for 3, run; 2 IP, four hits, two strikeouts, two walks), Jack Fitzpatrick (2 for 3, three RBI; 1/3 IP, two hits, two ER), Jason Aubin (2 for 3)

Notable quotes

• “I was feeling really good. I haven’t had a good game (at the plate) yet, so I was ready to get some hits, and I succeeded in that.” — Mt. Ararat junior left fielder Tyler Thibeault

• “We just didn’t play well all the way around. (Poor defense), we didn’t hit the ball, we had some big opportunities at the beginning to score a bunch of runs, and, you know, we kind of watched too many strikes go by. So it’s pretty much the story of the day.” — Skowhegan coach Peter Kirby