Ponies split doubleheader with Ellsworth

Ponies split doubleheader with Ellsworth
Editor: David Mills


DOVER-FOXCROFT, ME - The FA baseball team piled up 13 hits en route to a 16-1 win over the Ellsworth Eagles in the first leg of Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader at Foxcroft Academy, but Ellsworth bounced back to win 7-5 in a 9-inning thriller in the day’s second contest. The split leaves FA with a 4-2 record while the Eagles stand at 3-4.

Kaleb Smith was outstanding on the mound for the Ponies in game one. Smith improved his season record to 2-1 with four shutout innings, racking up 9 strikeouts while holding the Eagles to just 3 hits. Colby Snell closed out the five-inning game for the Ponies, yielding one run on one hit while striking out one batter. Jesse Provost (pictured at bat above) put forth a heroic effort in game two, pitching all nine innings for the Ponies in his first start of the year. Provost fanned 8 hitters and relinquished 3 earned runs in the hard-luck loss, the first of his career. The junior was 6-0 with one save for the Ponies in 2011.

The Ponies scored early and often in game one, registering three runs in the first, five in the second, three in the third, and five in the fourth. Ellsworth saved ace Kyle Haslam for game two and was able to build a 4-1 lead through five innings. The Ponies chipped away for a run in the bottom of the 6th and trailed 4-2 heading into their final at bat. Cody Coiley got things started in the 7th with an opposite-field double but remained at second as Shinsuke Mikame and pinch-hitter Brooks Law were retired. Matt Chapman then blooped a two-out single to shallow right. Coiley had to hold up at second, but both he and Chapman moved into scoring position when Haslam’s third offering to Luke Olson (pictured below) got away from catcher Dustin Smelley. With the game on the line, Olson delivered the Ponies’ biggest hit of the year, tying the game with a shot through the left side of the infield. Caleb Richard then hit a bullet right at center fielder Del Beckwith, and the game headed to extra innings.

Neither side was able to scratch a run across in the 8th, but the Eagles scored three runs in the top of the 9th after the Ponies failed to corral Haslam’s two-out pop up. David Barnard’s single put the Eagles on top, and Smelley followed with a backbreaking two-run double deep in the left-center gap. Mikame scorched a double into the gap to open the bottom of the 9th and came around to score after a Hunter Law groundout and a passed ball. Haslam, who like Provost pitched all 9 innings, then bore done and struck out Chapman and Olson to seal the dramatic 7-5 win.

For the afternoon, Richard went 4-7 with 5 runs and 3 RBI. The Ponies’ catalyst raised his batting average to a team-leading .450 and also leads the team in hits (9) and runs scored (10). Cameron Fadley finished the day 3-6 and drove in a career-high 6 runs in game one. Olson went 3-6 with 3 runs, 2 RBI, and 2 stolen bases, and Coiley smacked 3 doubles and scored 3 runs. Ryan Rebar finished 2-6 with 3 runs, 2 RBI, and 2 stolen bases, Provost went 2-4 with 2 RBI, and Mikame went 2-6 with a run.

Photos are provided by John You ‘13.