Preseason comes to an end for Windham baseball by David Field

The Windham Eagles have played three games in the last week to conclude their preseason stint.  Windham starts their regular season today, April 19 against Marshwood at home.  Last year, the Eagles were victorious against the Hawks.
The Eagles faced Oxford Hills last Thursday and soundly defeated the Vikings 9-1.  Shawn Francoeur took the hill for five innings and held Oxford Hills to only one run in the second inning.  The Windham offense found their groove in the third inning and unloaded a five run attack, through a combination of hits, walks and errors.  

The Windham offense came alive in the fifth inning to record four more runs.  Sharp hitting by the Eagles coupled with a few walked base runners gave Windham the decisive edge.  Spencer Hodge closed the game on the hill to seal the game.  

On Monday, the Eagles did a double header in Lewiston.  In game one, Windham faced the Lewiston Blue Devils.  Windham’s defense and hot bats controlled the game to give them the 9-1 victory.  Keep in mind, this is preseason and nothing should be taken for granted on either part.  However, Windham did look sharp.  

Spencer Hodge led the game off with a single.  He stole second base to get in scoring position.  Tanner Laberge grounded out to put Hodge on third.  Shawn Francoeur drew a walk and got caught in a rundown that allowed Hodge to score before he was put out.  It was a very dramatic way to start the game for sure. 

Senior Nate Boyle took the mound for Windham and hurled four scoreless innings for the Eagles.  In the second inning, Windham bats found a lot more life.  Lewiston committed two errors and Windham capitalized on walked batters and a couple of hits to generate five runs.  The Eagles were silenced in the third and produced two more runs in the fourth.  In the fifth, Windham bats caught fire again and had four hits to generate four more runs to ensure the victory. 

In the second game of the day, Windham faced Monmouth.  The Eagles used their younger players to give them a game opportunity.  Joe Francoeur threw the first two innings for Windham and then the underclassmen took control.  In the fourth, Monmouth started hitting sophomore Eli Williams’ pitches, which allowed three runs before the Eagles made a change to Ethan Petty.  Petty finished that inning and the next.  Dan Hansen made his pitching debut and allowed one run.  Since it was a controlled scrimmage, Windham forgave their at bat and Kyle Joseph pitched a very strong three batter inning to conclude the game.  

Windham opens their season against Marshwood on this Friday at 11 a.m. at Windham HS.  Coach Brody Artes is excited to get his team underway.