THORNDIKE – The first half of the 2008 season was a disappointment for the Camden Hills of Rockport baseball team.

But if the Windjammers’ play this week is any indication, there’s still time to salvage some success.

Two days after defeating Waterville, Camden Hills earned its biggest victory to date Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Mount View in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B encounter.

Senior Jake Grinnell pitched a six-hitter with five strikeouts and no walks as the Windjammers ended the Mustangs’ six-game winning streak. Grinnell required just 88 pitches – 61 for strikes – to outduel Mount View’s Tyler Miles in a battle of lefthanders.

“My curveball wasn’t working so well I just had to stick with my fastball and place it either inside or outside, and keeping it low was key because the umpire was calling some low strikes,” said Grinnell. “Location was a big thing for me, just getting ground balls.”

Grinnell needed to be at his best, because Miles also produced a high-quality start. The rangy senior scattered four hits and did not allow an earned run while striking out eight, walking no one and hitting a batter in a 103-pitch effort that included 80 strikes.

“Tyler is tough, and he pitched well but we eked out a few runs,” said Camden Hills coach Tom Stammen, whose team got additional value from its baserunners thanks to five stolen bases. “We got a hit here and a hit there and stole a base and made them have to make some plays, and we were able to score the runs we needed.”

Camden Hills capitalized on four Mount View errors to score three runs after the 6-4 Mustangs had taken a 1-0 first-inning lead when Josh St. Clair tripled to the right-center field gap and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Jean.

The Windjammers took a 2-1 lead in the third. Phil Curll hit a leadoff double to left center and came around to score on two Mount View errors.

Gordon Fischer, who reached on the first of those errors, later scored on a two-out single to center by Zac Dufour. Grinnell, meanwhile, faced no more than four batters in any inning after the first, and the Camden Hills defense made just one error, that in the seventh on an overthrow of first base that turned into an out at second thanks to some hustling play by first baseman Chris Hart and second baseman Curll.

“I gained a lot of confidence as the game went on,” said Grinnell, “because my defense was doing good so I felt like I could just throw the way I wanted to and my defense would be there.”

Camden Hills padded its lead in the sixth. Dufour hit a one-out single, stole second and went to third on a groundout by Adam Landwehr.

When Dufour overran third base slightly, Mount View tried to throw him out but the throw went out of play and Dufour scored.

The win leaves the Windjammers at 4-7, but with a more favorable schedule during the final 10 days of the season they are optimistic a playoff berth remains within reach.

“If we play the way we’re capable of one game at a time, good things can happen,” said Stammen. “I think we have to believe that, believe in each other and believe in ourselves, and hopefully we can do good things the last five games of the season.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

WINDJAMMERS 3, MUSTANGS 1

Camden Hills (4-7) Mount View (6-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Calloway, rf 4 0 0 0 De. Keller, ss 3 0 0

Curll, 2b 3 1 1 0 St. Clair, 1b 3 1 0

Fischer, lf 3 1 1 0 Jean, cf 2 0 1

Grinnell, p 3 0 0 0 Miles, p 3 0 0

Dufour, c 2 1 2 1 Raven, 3b 3 0 0

Hart, 1b 2 0 0 0 Campbell, dh 3 0 0

Landwehr, ph 1 0 0 0 Lemieux, 2b 0 0 0

Kennedy, 3b 3 0 0 0 Roy, lf 2 0 0 0

T. Gartley, dh 3 0 0 0 Rednour, ph 1 0

Hunt, ss 0 0 0 0 Abbott, c 3 0 0

Adolphsen, rf 1 0 0 0 Dy. Keller, rf 2 0

Denman, rf 2 0 0 0

Totals 27 3 4 1 Totals 25 1 6 1

Camden Hills 002 001 0 – 3

Mount View 100 000 0 – 1

E-De. Keller 2, Abbott 2, St. Clair; Hunt; LOB-Camden Hills 4, Mount View 4; 2B-Curll; 3B-St. Clair; DP-Camden Hills 1; SF-Jean; SB-Fischer 2, Dufour 2, Kennedy

Camden Hills IP H R ER BB SO

Grinnell (W, 1-2) 7 6 1 1 0 5

Mount View IP H R ER BB SO

Miles (L, 3-3) 7 4 3 0 0 8

HBP-Dufour (by Miles); WP-Grinnell; Miles; T-1:35; ATT-50 (est.)