Thornton baseball’s two-out production stops Scarborough
SACO — When the thunder rumbled over Thornton Academy's baseball field Thursday, it seemed like nature might interrupt what was already becoming a memorable Class A South quarterfinal.
The delay lasted 45 minutes. When play resumed, Scarborough starter Liam Vines struck out the next batter to escape a bases-loaded jam. But the Trojans had already seized control, and they never let go.
Thornton Academy scored all 12 of its runs with two outs, cruising past Scarborough 12-2 in a mercy-rule decision that sent the Trojans to the Class A South semifinals.
"Two-out hits. Big hits with two-out RBI," Scarborough coach Wes Ridlon said. "We had the opportunities to get the big hit and put some more runs on the board and we didn't do that, and they did."
The Trojans (13-5) will face the winner of Friday's Falmouth-Gorham game on Saturday at the higher remaining seed.
The game was tightly contested through the first three innings, with Thornton holding a 3-2 lead. The bases were loaded with one out in the bottom of the third when officials cleared the field due to the storm.
When play resumed, Vines recorded two quick outs, but sophomore shortstop Colton Cross came through with a sharp two-run single up the middle, extending the Trojans' lead to 5-2.
"I was just looking at the ball out of his hand and I got my pitch and hit it right up the middle," Cross said.
Thornton coach Jason Lariviere said that at-bat proved pivotal.
"He had a great at-bat and I knew momentum was going to swing one way or the other depending on how that at-bat went, because if they had gotten out of it, that would've been a huge momentum builder for them," Lariviere said.
The floodgates opened. Dominic Hussey worked a walk to reload the bases, and Carter Moody was hit by the first pitch from Scarborough reliever Ryan Shugars to force in another run. Brayden Duane followed with a two-run single, and Moody scored on a throwing error as Thornton expanded its lead to 9-2.
In the fourth inning, the Trojans added three more runs, with Moody capping the rally with a two-out double to left-center that drove in two more.
"I felt like just trying to get out of here and move on to the next game," Moody said. "A clutch hit was it."
Moody, Thornton's leadoff hitter, finished 3 for 3 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored. Parker Bjorklund also delivered with two-out RBIs in the first inning, and Moody had a two-out RBI double in the second.
Beck Edgerly closed out the victory with a 1-2-3 fifth inning, including snaring a line drive up the middle for the first out. He allowed two unearned runs on two hits while hitting three batters.
The Trojans' balanced attack and two-out prowess proved too much for Scarborough (12-6), which couldn't capitalize on its own scoring opportunities.
The win came during a chaotic day across Class A South. Top-seeded Gorham found itself trailing No. 8 Falmouth 6-0 in the fourth inning before their game was postponed and will restart Friday with pitch counts carrying over. Second-seeded South Portland was upset 1-0 in eight innings by No. 10 Noble, while third-seeded Cheverus rallied to beat Sanford in extra innings.
"You see it in the playoffs, anyone can beat anyone," Lariviere said. "There's no game that's going to be an easy win and you play each game as a must win."
