CHELMSFORD — When the lineup cards were distributed, it appeared as if Methuen dodged a bullet, knowing that they were not facing Chelmsford ace pitcher Braydon Gray, who has dominated Merrimack Valley Conference hitters for the past three years.
Instead, Caleb Stuart’s name was penciled in, and he proved that he’s also among the better hurlers in the league.
The senior right-hander was masterful for 5-plus innings, leading the Lions to a 6-0 victory over the Rangers at Ayotte Field.
Stuart tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, while walking one and striking out nine. He had strong command of his fastball all game, hitting in the upper 80’s from start to finish.
Methuen (5-9) managed only three hits, but left seven runners on base, including second and third with one out in the fifth. On top of Stuart’s dominance, the Rangers made five errors, two of those leading to three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth.
“We made some (defensive) mistakes. (Our starting pitcher Owen Sullivan) Sully kept us in the game like he has all season,” said Methuen head coach Cam Roper. “We have to tighten up defensively. That’s been our M.O. this season. I thought we had some good at-bats, but we hit some barrels right at some guys.
“Then we didn’t get some hits when we had guys on base and (Stuart) made some big pitches in some big spots and our barrels didn’t find any holes. (Stuart) worked quickly and he has a firm fastball. He just lived on the outer half (of the plate), made some pitches when he needed too and mixed in his breaking ball. He did a really good job so a credit to him.”
The Lions (11-4) struck for two runs in the top of the first behind a RBI triple to right-center off the bat of Matt Stuart, who then scored on a RBI single by Ryan Clark.”
“(Matt Stuart’s) numbers speak for themselves and he’s such a great hitter. We left a ball up and he made us pay for it. (Sullivan) bounced back and made some big pitches the rest of the game,” said Roper.
Clark singled in a run in the bottom of the fifth, before the Lions tacked on those three runs in the sixth.
For Methuen, Escarnio Vargas, TJ Mullen and G’Audrey Canario all had singles. Sullivan was the losing pitcher as he went 5.2 innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out six.
“(Chelmsford) is a top ten team in the state and they are an excellent program. This is the biggest disparity during my time as coach ,” said Roper. “We have played (Chelmsford) six times now and all of the games, except this one, has been a one-run game. We know exactly what we are getting into whenever we face each other that it’s going to be a low scoring game. Today they just got a few more hits than we did.”
The Rangers will look to get back on track with two home games starting with Billerica on Monday and Dracut on Wednesday.
“I’ve been saying it after every win and every loss that I still love this team and I love these guys. As of today we are ranked number 29 in the power rankings and the top thirty-two make it so we’re right in the mix. We can kind of control our own destiny if we play some good baseball,” said Roper.
Chelmsford 6, Methuen 0
Methuen (5-9): 000 000 0 -0 3 5
Chelmsford (11-4): 200 013 x -6 7 1
Methuen: Marizan lf 4-0-0, Sullivan p 3-0-0, Mottram p 0-0-0, Pappalardo ss 2-0-0, Vargas dh 3-0-1, Kneeland 2b-c 3-0-0, Mullen 1b 3-0-1, Lachance c 1-0-0, Leiveille rf 0-0-0, Burke ph 1-0-0, Canario rf-2b 3-0-1, Pride cf 2-0-0, Lopez 3b 0-0-0. Totals: 25-0-3.
Chelmsford: Michaud rf 3-2-1, Engelhardt cf 3-1-2, M. Stuart 3-1-1, Clark 3-0-2, Blaine c 3-0-0, Hall ss 3-1-0, Hayes 1b 2-0-0, Keyo 1b 1-0-1, George lf 2-0-0, Ramseyer lf 1-1-0, Kobrenski 2b 3-0-0, C. Stuart p 0-0-0, Brown p 0-0-0, Pelkey p 0-0-0. Totals: 27-6-7.
WP: C. Stuart; LP: Sullivan
RBI: C. Clark 2, Engelhardt, M. Stuart, Keyo.