The post-season is now fully under way and many local baseball and softball teams are involved.
Preliminary playoff games took place earlier this week, with quarterfinals scheduled Thursday, weather permitting, and semifinals Saturday. The Eastern Maine championship games for classes B and D are slated for next Wednesday, June 18, with baseball taking place at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor and softball at Brewer’s Coffin Field. The state championship contests are set for Saturday, June 21 at the same venues.
The Presque Isle Wildcat baseball team has already played and saw its season come to an end with a 2-1 nine-inning loss against Mount Desert Island in a prelim contest that took place Monday in Bar Harbor.
PI, the 12th seed in EM ‘B,’ scored the tying run in the top of the fifth after fifth-ranked MDI had tallied a run of its own the previous half inning. The pitching duel between Wildcat senior Saul Nunez and MDI Steven Hanscom continued into the bottom of the ninth, when Hanscom’s one-out RBI single drove in Jack Sasner for the walk-off win by the home team.
Nunez and Hanscom both went the distance, with eight strikeouts each. Each allowed six hits.
Presque Isle finished the regular season at 7-9 following a 6-3 loss at Caribou last Wednesday. The Wildcats committed four errors behind losing pitcher Nunez, who allowed just five hits in the game. PI led 3-2 before Caribou rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Curry had the win on the mound for the Vikings, with Wildcat junior catcher Ben Buckley’s two hits pacing the offense.
The Washburn and Fort Fairfield baseball teams both logged fine campaigns and high seeds for the playoffs.
The Beavers finished 12-2 for what is believed to be the best winning percentage in school history, and grabbed the No. 3 position and a bye into the quarterfinal round. They await the winner of the prelim game between No. 6 PVHS and No. 11 Hodgdon, which was held Tuesday. The quarterfinal will be played at Washburn, most likely Thursday at a time undetermined at presstime.
“I am extremely proud of the effort they put in, day in and day out. We had five games decided by three runs or less and it took an entire team effort to win those games,” said Washburn coach Ben Goodwin. “Our key to moving forward will be having the same focus we had throughout the year.”
Goodwin said his team improved in every offensive and pitching category from last season. At the plate, Washburn scored 33 more runs and struck out 37 times less. On the mound, Beaver hurlers gave up 81 fewer runs and the staff earned run average improved by 4.72.
The Beavers split their final two games, doubling up on Limestone-MSSM last Tuesday, 4-2, before losing a slugfest against Fort Fairfield the next day, 18-10.
Keagan Page had two of the four Beaver hits off Eagle ace Chris Bernier, while Mccall Turner singled and scored a pair of runs. Page got the pitching win by going the distance and scattering six hits while fanning five. Bernier, the hard-luck loser on the mound, tossed a complete-game four-hitter and struck out 15 along the way.
At Washburn the next day, Fort Fairfield’s Ryan Pelkey doubled three times and finished with four hits as the Tigers prevailed. The Tigers’ six-run sixth inning was the key rally. Ryan Player had three hits for FF, while Page collected two doubles and three RBI to lead the Beavers at the plate.
Fort Fairfield also won several close games en route to a 9-5 mark and the fourth seed. In a prelim game played Tuesday, Fort Fairfield hosted No. 13 Ashland. The Hornets went 5-11 to slide into the final playoff slot. The winner of the preliminary game takes on the No. 5 Limestone/MSSM-No. 12 Katahdin winner in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Central Aroostook finished with an 0-14 record, losing its finale last Wednesday to Wisdom, 12-2.
In softball, after an 0-2 start, Presque Isle picked up its play and recorded an 11-5 record, good enough for eighth place in EM ‘B.’ The Wildcats hosted Erskine Academy of South China in a prelim game held Tuesday afternoon and the winner advances into Thursday’s quarterfinal at No. 1 and undefeated Gardiner.
“This team has battled hard all season and have exceeded expectations,” said PI coach Terry Cummings.
Presque Isle ended regular season play with a 10-6 victory at Caribou last Wednesday. Hailey Cameron paced the winning offense with three hits, including a pair of doubles. Erin Ackerson belted an inside-the-park homer and Olivia Hudson added two singles. Carly Bell struck out nine batters en route to the pitching win.
In the Class D ranks, Washburn is ranked third with an 11-4 record, followed by Ashland in fourth at 11-5 and Fort Fairfield in fifth at 8-7.
The Beavers played their final regular season road game last Tuesday and suffered a 17-4 loss to No. 1 Limestone-MSSM. The Eagles put seven runs on the scoreboard in the second inning and followed that up with eight more an inning later in the rout. Hannah Heald, Nicole Olson and Brittany Corey had Washburn’s only hits.
The Beavers did beat Fort Fairfield at home the following afternoon, 18-17, to end the season at 11-4. In that game, Olson had a double and two singles and Taylor Howe had a pair of hits for the victors. Logan Bubar collected three hits and Alexis Coiley ripped an RBI double for Fort Fairfield.
The Beavers played No. 14 Schenck in Tuesday’s preliminary round, while Ashland hosted No. 13 Bangor Christian and Fort Fairfield was the home team against 12th-ranked Katahdin.
The Central Aroostook Panthers also hosted a preliminary playoff game Tuesday after finishing at 8-8. The No. 8 Panthers hosted No. 9 Bangor Christian.
CA topped Wisdom last Wednesday, 12-3, to end regular season action. Whitney Bradbury had four hits, including a triple and a double, and drove in three runs to join Kelsey Dominique in leading the offense. Dominique also had a big game with two doubles, two singles and three RBI.
