Rockland stays on roll vs. Lions

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BELFAST – The Rockland Tigers have been playing baseball at a professional pace early in the season – seven games in 11 days.

So far, they’ve stood up well to the endurance test, improving their record to 5-2 with a 6-5 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B victory over Belfast on Thursday afternoon.

“We haven’t had a practice since our first game,” said Rockland coach Richie Oliver, whose team is back on the diamond Friday against Maranacook of Readfield. “The two days that we’ve had a chance to have practice it’s rained, so if we make mistakes out there they’re in a game and we have to talk about it after the game, we can’t go back out on the field and actually work on those things.”

Rockland also was coping with the loss of senior Dom Morrill, the ace of the staff as well as one of the better hitters in the conference who was sidelined Wednesday with a possible torn labrum in his pitching shoulder.

Into his spot in the rotation Thursday went freshman Dylan Meklin, who scattered six hits before giving way to Mike Marsh with two on and no outs in the seventh.

Marsh immediately made the defensive play of the game, a diving catch of a sacrifice bunt attempt by Belfast’s Kyle Dow to start a double play that quashed the Lions’ comeback hopes and preserved Rockland’s fourth straight win.

“I just saw it pop up, and I felt I had enough time and I reacted and grabbed it,” said Marsh, a senior who will attend Holy Cross in the fall. “Then my teammates supported me and told me the guy on first was off quite a bit so I threw it and got the double play.”

Meklin, who had just one inning of previous high school pitching experience, struggled with his control at times on the windy day, but ultimately gave the Tigers a chance to win in his first varsity start.

“He pitched a great game,” said Oliver.

Rockland took control of the game in the fifth inning with five runs – four unearned – off Belfast starter Jake Arthers.

A single to left by David Searle, a sacrifice bunt by Eric Harjula that was misplayed, a bunt single by Josh Elwell and another Belfast error produced two runs to give Rockland a 3-2 lead. After Marsh walked, cleanup hitter Cyrus Sleeper singled home two runs and Derrick Tripp plated the final run of the inning with a groundout to give the Tigers a 6-2 cushion.

“We’ve got to play seven innings of baseball, and do the fundamental things,” said Belfast coach George Ross. It’s the little things that make the difference. We’re 3-3, and we’ve had two one-run ball games because of the same kind of stuff. We’ve got to be smarter.”

The Lions rallied with three runs in the sixth inning, as Arthers doubled home two runs and scored on a single by Tyler Bowen.

Marsh, Sleeper and Tripp each singled twice for Rockland, with Tripp adding two RBIs.

Jon Walsh reached base four times for Belfast, drawing three walks and being hit by a pitch.

Travis Colson drew a one-out walk and scored on singles by Marsh and Tripp to give Rockland a 1-0 lead in the first.

Rick Bernosky’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the first drove home Walsh to tie the game, and Belfast took a 2-1 lead in the third on an RBI groundout by John Higgins.

TIGERS 6, LIONS 5

Rockland (5-2) Belfast (3-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Elwell, cf 4 1 1 0 Cross, 3b 4 0 0

Colson, 2b 3 2 0 0 Arthers, p-ss 4 1 2

Marsh, lf-p 3 1 2 0 Walsh, cf 0 2 0

Sleeper, c 4 0 2 2 Bowen, lf 3 0 1

Tripp, ss 4 0 2 2 Bernosky, ss 4 0 1

Murphy, 3b 2 0 0 0 Carr, c 3 0 0 0

Meklin, p 3 0 1 0 Higgins, 1b 3 0 1

Kvorjak, lf 0 0 0 0 Dutton, ph 1 0 0

Searle, 1b 3 1 1 0 Boynton, rf 2 0 0

Harjula, rf 1 1 0 0 Ridley, p-3b 1 1 0

Patterson, ph 1 0 0 0 Davis, 2b 2 0

Dow, 2b 1 1 0 0

Totals 28 6 9 4 Totals 28 5 6 5

Rockland 100 050 0 – 6

Belfast 101 003 0 – 5

E-Tripp 2, Murphy; Arthers, Davis; LOB-Rockland 5; Belfast 11; 2B-Arthers; DP-Rockland; Belfast; S-Harjula; Cross; SB-Colson, Tripp; Walsh, Bowen

Rockland IP H R ER BB SO

Meklin (W, 1-0) 6 6 5 5 5 4

Marsh (S, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 0

Belfast IP H R ER BB SO

Arthers (L, 1-1) 6 9 6 2 3 2

Ridley 1 2 0 0 0 0

HBP-Walsh (by Meklin), Carr (by Meklin), Ridley (by Meklin); WP-Meklin; BK-Meklin; T-2:10; ATT-75 (est.)