Hampden Academy’s varsity baseball team had a flawless start to its 2024 campaign on Tuesday afternoon, outhitting visitors Mt. Ararat 15-2 en route to a convincing 9-0 victory.
The first few innings were especially one-sided, as the Broncos quickly posted eight runs and senior ace Collin Peckham kept the bases clear through three innings. Hampden ultimately derived base hits from all nine members of its starting lineup, and Peckham finished with seven strikeouts through five innings of two-hit ball.
“We’re real happy. We have a veteran bunch, and we have high expectations,” head coach Jon Perry said. “We’ve had great pitching and great defense, but we haven’t hit the ball like we thought we could. That’s the difference this year.”
Hampden jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, getting its first six batters on base with the help of two Mt. Ararat errors and some aggressive baserunning. In the third, Hampden scored three more runs beginning with a leadoff double from junior first baseman Kaysen Wildman followed by a single from junior right fielder Aidan Hulsey.
At the heart of Hampden’s lineup, Peckham, senior shortstop TJ Llerena, Kaysen Wildman, and Hulsey each finished with two hits, with Llerena (two RBIs) and Wildman (two doubles, one RBI) each scoring twice.
In the eight hole, senior center fielder Zach McLaughlin smacked an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and tacked on a sacrifice bunt and a walk. In the nine spot, sophomore catcher Rogan Lord also got on base twice and earned himself an RBI in the third.
“The kids are bought into our hitting philosophy, they’re working hard at it, and it showed,” Perry said. “We want to be more aggressive at the plate, and keep our swings shorter.”
On the mound, Wildman closed the game out for Hampden, twirling two innings of no-hit ball in only 22 pitches (12 strikes, one strikeout). Peckham threw 68 pitches, 49 of which were strikes.
“I was leaning on my fastball,” Peckham said. “I was able to hit the corners of the plate, and our guys in the infield were making the plays.”
At the top of Mt. Ararat’s order, catcher Ethan Card and center fielder Luke McLaughlin singled off Peckham in the top of the fourth, but Peckham responded by retiring the next three batters to keep the Eagles off the board.
On the mound, Mt. Ararat’s Eligh Himrie prevented the 10-run mercy rule from kicking in by tossing three innings of one-run ball (zero earned) to close out the game, with two strikeouts.
Next up, Hampden will return to action on Friday versus Brunswick away at noon, and Mt. Ararat will host Mt. Blue at 2 p.m. on Thursday.