Morse baseball ousts Freeport in B South preliminary round

[ **Our Communities. Our Teams. Our Future. **We’re proud to make high school sports coverage free for everyone, because these moments matter. At Maine State Credit Union, we’re here for the people and places that make Maine strong. Let’s go! Learn more at **[mainestatecu.org](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7274124606&iu=/6119)**.   Morse outfielder Caden Wells, facing, celebrates with pitcher Oscar Gallant in the sixth inning of the Shipbuilders’ 8-4 Class B South prelim win over Freeport on Tuesday in Bath. (Cooper Sullivan/Staff Photographer) View 12 photos BATH — An inning isn’t over until there are three outs. That was evident Tuesday in a Class B South preliminary-round baseball game between 10th-seeded Freeport and No. 7 Morse. Freeport scored all four of its runs with two outs, but the Shipbuilders got four two-out runs in the sixth inning to break a tie on their way to an 8-4 victory and a spot in the regional quarterfinals. The Shipbuilders (13-4) will take on second-seeded Leavitt (14-2) in Turner at 3:45 p.m. Thursday. Freeport ended the season at 7-10. “If they’ve got an out left, they’ve got time left,” Morse coach Garrett Olson said. “They know. Having confidence and not panicking, we know we can hit, we know we can score runs, like it’s just a matter of time. Keep on with the approach, and, you know, it’s contagious.” Morse and Leavitt split two regular-season meetings, each winning at home. HOW IT HAPPENED • Morse scored on an error at first base in the first inning, but Freeport took a 3-1 lead in the third with five straight hits, mostly hard-hit liners into the gap, after back-to-back groundouts. Advertisement • Morse starter Oscar Gallant retired the first two batters of the fifth inning, but an errant throw to first put Freeport’s Liam Emmons on base and Andrew Thomas drove him home. “We take that approach, that the pressure is really on them to get the third out,” Freeport coach Steve Shukie said. “Be relaxed at the plate, and our guys did a good job with that today, getting hits with two outs, getting rallies started with two outs … Unfortunately (it) happened to us the other way in the sixth.” • The Shipbuilders only had one hit against Dylan Meinert through four innings, but they got four straight hits in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-3. Edward Delano then grounded out to shortstop for the first out, but Eli Sommers scored the tying run. “The first two innings, we were just feeling out the pitcher, feeling out the pitcher, and then (we) just executed,” Gallant said. • Freeport reliever Nolan Becker got the final two outs of the fifth with runners in scoring position. In the sixth, though, Morse produced another four-hit sequence, as Colin Verrill, Sommers, Gallant and Delano turned their slap hits and heads-up base running into four runs. STATISTICAL LEADERS • Freeport: Dylan Meinert (4 2/3 innings pitched, five hits, three earned runs, three walks, six strikeouts; 1 for 4, run), Andrew Thomas (2 for 4, two RBI), Liam Emmons (2 for 3, RBI, two runs), Evan Holbrook (2 for 4, RBI) • Morse: Oscar Gallant (5 1/3 innings pitched, eight hits, three earned runs, two walks, five strikeouts; 2 for 3, two RBI, run), Colin Verrill (2 for 4, two runs), Edward Delano (1 for 4, two RBI, run), Eli Sommers (2 for 4, RBI, two runs) Copy the Story Link Tagged: [freeport falcons](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/freeport-falcons/), [morse shipbuilders](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/morse-shipbuilders/), [times record sports](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/times-record-sports/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan) [Cooper SullivanStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan) Cooper Sullivan covers high school and collegiate sports in Brunswick and the surrounding communities. He is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he studied at Wake Forest University ('24) and held. [More by Cooper Sullivan](https://www.pressherald.com/author/cooper-sullivan)