Moran sparks Broncos Hampden rolls by Brewer in opener

loading...

BREWER – Hampden Academy has had a highly successful schoolboy sports year to date, with an Eastern Maine title in soccer followed by a Class A state championship in basketball.

The Broncos’ baseball team, which opened its 2005 season Tuesday with an 11-1 victory over Brewer at Heddericg Field, has similar ambitions.

“We have a lot of high expectations,” said junior third baseman Ian Lee, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances -including two-run homer – from the leadoff slot in the Hampden order. “We’ve got a lot of good seniors and this is really our last year together, so we’re trying to enjoy it and go out in style.”

Hampden, ousted in the regional quarterfinals last year by Mount Ararat of Topsham and top-five draft pick Mark Rogers, certainly played the role of a contender in its first regular-season game under new coach David Shapiro.

The Broncos pounded out 14 hits, played errorless defense, and got six innings of four-hit pitching from senior right-hander Pat Moran.

The University of Maine-bound Moran, working under the watchful eyes of both Shapiro and his future mentor, Black Bears coach Paul Kostacopoulos, struck out eight, walked one and hit a batter during a 91-pitch performance.

He spotted Brewer a 1-0 first-inning lead on a leadoff single by Andrew Otis, a stolen base and a one-out double by Kevin McAvoy, but never allowed another runner past second before giving way to lefthander Evan Farley, who pitched a scoreless seventh.

“As I kept pitching, inning by inning I just kept getting better,” Moran said. “The zone got a little bigger and I hit my spots better. I was having a little trouble on the outside corner, but I was hitting the inside corner pretty well.”

Hampden got offensive production from throughout its lineup. At the top, Lee reached on two hits, two walks and a Brewer error, and he scored a pair of runs.

“I guess I’m not your typical leadoff hitter,” said Lee, who batted in the middle of the Broncos’ lineup last year. “I’m not the fastest kid out there, but I just like to set the pace for the guys and they do a good job of driving me in.”

Chris Morris, Mike Brown and Joel Neill combined for six hits, six runs and three RBIs from the 7-8-9 slots in the Hampden order, while Billy Shannon and Chris Pease each hit a two-run double. Blaine Meehan drove home two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly for the Broncos, while Kevin Brooks added a double.

Hampden broke on top with three runs in the third off Brewer starter Corey Cushing, then added a single run in the fourth before putting the game away with a four-run rally against Cushing and reliever McAvoy in the sixth.

BRONCOS 11, WITCHES 1

Hampden Acad. (1-0) Brewer (0-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Lee, 3b 3 2 2 2 Otis, cf 3 1 0

Shannon, 2b 3 1 1 2 Grimes, lf 3 0 0

Meehan, ss 4 0 1 2 McAvoy, 3b-p 3 0 1

Pease, 1b 4 0 2 2 Brown, 1b 3 0 0

Brooks, c 4 0 1 0 Cushing, p-2b 3 0 0

Yamatino, pr 0 1 0 0 Hardy, dh 1 0 0

Moran, p 3 1 1 0 McLaughlin, 2b-3b 0 0

Maclean, ph 1 0 0 0 Davis, rf 3 0 0

Morris, lf 4 2 2 0 Kotredes, c 2 0 0

Brown, cf 3 2 2 0 Adams, ss 3 0 0

Neill, rf 2 2 2 3

Totals 31 11 14 11 Totals 24 1 4 1

Hampden Acad 003 104 3 -11

Brewer 100 000 0 – 1

E-McAvoy, Adams; LOB-Hampden Acad. 7, Brewer 5; 2B-Pease, Brooks, Shannon; McAvoy, Kotredes; HR-Lee; DP-Meehan to Shannon to Pease; S-Brown; SF-Meehan, Neill; SB-Shannon 2, Neill, Meehan; Otis, Grimes

Hampden Acad. IP H R ER BB SO

Moran (W, 1-0) 6 4 1 1 1 8

Farley 1 0 0 0 1 2

Home IP H R ER BB SO

Cushing (L, 0-1) 5 2/3 7 5 5 3 1

McAvoy 1 1/3 7 6 4 1 1

HBP-Neill by Cushing, Hardy by Moran; T-2:07; ATT-65