Windham gives everything in quarterfinal baseball playoff against Marshwood

By Matt Pascarella

After a very impressive playoff game where Windham High School eliminated Kennebunk, the Eagles traveled to face Marshwood in South Berwick on Wednesday, June 5 in the prep baseball quarterfinals. Ranked 12th overall, Windham did not let a lengthy rain delay stop them from playing hard against fourth-place Marshwood, but they prevailed, 7-0.

Windham senior Ryan Smyth holds onto the ball after he gets
an out at first base during a prep baseball quarterfinal
playoff game against Marshwood in South Berwick.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

“It was a tough game mentally,” said senior Erik Bowen. “These guys kept fighting I don’t think the score was reflective of the game, but Ethan [Clapp] came in and battled, he did what he could do. We faced a really good pitcher and a really good team, we had a few mistakes, but ... we couldn’t get runners in when we had them in scoring position. Our approach at the plate was still great. The Windham baseball program is on an upward trajection and I’m proud of these guys; there’s a bright future here.”

Marshwood scored two runs in the first inning. Windham sophomore Wyatt Washburn started on the mound, but unfortunately couldn’t finish the game due to a medical issue. By the top of the third inning a rain delay took everyone off the field for two hours.

When the game resumed, Windham was ready to leave it all on the field.

In the fourth inning, senior Brady Harvie singled; so, did senior Login Desrochers. Harvie stole his way to third base and Desrochers to second base, but the inning ended before they could score.

Windham defense only let up a single hit in the fourth inning, before sending the Hawks back to the dugout.

“It was a lot of pressure,” said pitcher and sophomore Ethan Clapp. “Coming in as a reliever, it was a challenge, but I tried to keep my head high and my hopes up. I threw a lot of strikes, we could have hit better, but I think fielding, we did really well. Our approach at the plate went really well; we fought.”

In Windham’s last chance to turn it around in the seventh inning, senior Ryan Smyth grounded and reached first base on an error. Then a pinch runner was caught stealing and there was a strikeout.

Although this game wasn’t an easy one, over the course of the season, WHS has progressed and grown as individuals.

“The growth that I’ve seen on this team has been like anything I’ve seen before,” said Windham junior Joshua Plummer. “Right out the gate we just had this mentality of we're going to be the best that we've been and persevere no matter what. We're going in the right direction as a team. We had a lot of tough spots in this season. We had sat down for two hours with the rain delay ... kept our energy through the last pitch of the game. It just shows how much we are committed to playing this game for the seniors. The seniors were really a huge part of this team. When times were tough, they really brought the team together and kept us all on the same page.”

The score tells only one half of this game’s story.

“We played a good game today, with a lot of adversity,” said Windham varsity baseball coach Chris Doughty. When you’re in a game with a two-hour rain delay it’s hard, it’s hard to keep your body loose, keep your mind ready. We lose our pitcher in the second inning to a medical issue, that can be a little bit deflating to the guys when you’re worried about one of your own. I really appreciate the way my guys handled that today and they did everything with class all year long. When you leave here, I want you to be a better baseball player than when you came, but what I really want is for you to be a better person and I think we accomplished that across the board; the sky’s kind of the limit for this program.”

Doughty said that he is also proud of what this team has accomplished in the last two years and the leadership he had from the seniors all season long. <