Apr. 25—GORHAM — The dozen or so Major League Baseball scouts who were at Gorham High on Friday afternoon to watch senior pitcher Wyatt Nadeau saw what they wanted to see.
And Sanford High went home with what it wanted — a 2-1 win, despite being no-hit.
Nadeau, Gorham’s 6-foot-6 right-hander who has committed to play at Vanderbilt, struck out 13, walked three, and hit a batter while throwing 94 pitchers over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed two unearned runs in the sixth inning, when Gorham made three errors.
“I felt like I had good stuff. I didn’t have my best command, and as a team we struggled defensively, me included, and we will be better next time,” Nadeau said. “Later in the game, my fastball, and mostly all my pitches, (were) not my full command. Not getting them where I wanted.”
Sanford loaded the bases on a misplayed bunt, a walk and a hit batter (Nadeau’s inside pitch grazed Matthew Hebert’s uniform).
On an 0-2 count with one out, Sanford’s Brady Boissoneault — who had struck out looking and appeared overmatched in his first two at-bats — hit a sharp grounder to second base. The potential double-play ball skidded under second baseman Wyatt Washburn’s glove, allowing winning pitcher Brady Adams and freshman Drew Vessels to score. Nadeau struck out the next hitter, but a third infield error ended his day.
Ray Fagnant, the New England scout for the Boston Red Sox, said Nadeau warrants continued attention as a draft prospect, despite the loss.
“He threw six innings. He competed. It’s Opening Day and a lot of people were here to see him and he competed well,” Fagnant said.
When Nadeau threw his first pitch, 11 scouts were camped behind home plate, several standing on a raised deck recently built specifically for their use. Between summer ball with his Maine Lightning club team and showcase events such as the Super 60 in Illinois in February, Nadeau is used to men pointing a radar speed gun at him.
“We had a preseason game against Cape Elizabeth where there were a couple (scouts) there as well,” Nadeau said. “I change nothing. I just go and attack hitters.”
Nadeau threw his first eight pitches for strikes.
“He’s done a tremendous job of taking everything in stride and keeping everything in perspective,” said Gorham coach Ed Smith. “He does a real good job of not letting it get to him too much, seeing all the radar guns, and guys taking notes back there.”
Nadeau threw several 95 mph fastballs in the first inning, said another scout who would not give his name or club affiliation.
“You’re here to get an understanding of his stuff and how he moves it around,” the scout said, adding he would put Nadeau among the “the top five, to top 10,” pitching prospects in New England.
Through five innings, Nadeau was in total control, striking out 11 batters and showing off a sharp slider and change-up. Sanford shortstop Ryan Alexander was the only Spartan to make hard contact, driving two liners, the second requiring Cooper Whitehead to make a diving catch in right.
Sanford coach Kyle Bernier said he had told his team they’d need to play a near-perfect game to beat Nadeau and Gorham. The Spartans delivered. A sharp 6-4-3 double play from Alexander to Vessels, a freshman, to fully-stretched first baseman Zach Kassim snuffed a second-inning threat. Adams picked off Dante Cuesta after Cuesta opened the third with a single. Catcher Matthew Hebert threw out Hunter Finck trying to steal in the fourth.
Gorham’s lone run came in the fifth, when Washburn’s bases-loaded single scored Nadeau (2 for 3), who started the inning with a single. But Vessels halted the potential big inning when the turned Mason Finck’s hard-hit grounder into a 4-3 double play.
Adams, a senior who said he pitched “spot innings” the past two seasons, did his part, scattering seven singles. Cayden Gendron worked two scoreless innings for the save, allowing three singles.
And in the sixth inning, when Nadeau’s fastball velocity dipped about five miles an hour according to the scouts, Sanford did enough to manufacture two runs.
“The kid’s good, Wyatt Nadeau. Throws hard. Has great stuff,” Boissoneault said. “You’ve just got to compete and go up every at-bat with the same mindset: Swing hard in case you hit it. And that’s what I did that last at-bat.”
While Nadeau is drawing pro interest, his first option remains Vanderbilt, where he committed prior to his sophomore season.
“It’s not going to be easy to lure a guy like (Nadeau) away from Vanderbilt. It’s a great opportunity. Great program. Great coaching staff,” Smith said. “I know he’s really looking forward to that. It’s going to take, I think, a strong offer, I would think anyway, to get him to think about making that decision (to go pro).”
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