Fort Fairfield senior Jon Bernard (left) is congratulated by teammate Dylan Jandreau after scoring the first run of Thursday’s Class D North baseball quarterfinal at Fort Fairfield. The Tigers beat Penobscot Valley of Howland 11-1. They went on to defeat Hodgdon in the semifinals Saturday and next play Bangor Christian tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Bangor with a regional title on the line. (Kevin Sjoberg | Star-Herald)
The top two teams in the standings for both softball and baseball will battle for Class D North regional championships Tuesday.
The No. 1 Southern Aroostook girls will take on No. 2 Penobscot Valley this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Coffin Field in Brewer, with the softball title at stake.
At 6:30 p.m., the top-ranked Fort Fairfield Tigers meet up against second seed Bangor Christian in the baseball finals at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
The Warriors, 14-2 overall, have parlayed playoff wins over No. 8 Ashland (by a 10-9 final) and No. 4 Stearns of Millinocket (15-7) into a berth in the championship game. They take on Penobscot Valley High School of Howland, which stands at 18-0 following easy wins over No. 7 East Grand (11-0) and No. 11 Schenck of East Millinocket (9-1) in the first two rounds of the post-season tourney.
The pitching matchup is between Kylie Vining, Southern Aroostook’s sophomore ace, and Leine McKechnie of PVHS.
Southern Aroostook is eyeing its first-ever regional crown, while PVHS captured back-to-back Class D titles in 2012 and 2013, winning the state championship that first year.
In baseball, the Tigers are now 16-0 and remain the only undefeated baseball team in the state. Fort Fairfield handled No. 8 PVHS in Thursday’s quarterfinal round, 11-1, before blanking No. 4 Hodgdon Saturday in the semis, 5-0.
Fort Fairfield, coached by John Ala, has held 15 of its 16 opponents to three runs or less. The Tigers rely on the strong pitching combination of senior righthander Carter Bruce and junior righty Jared Harvey. They are also solid offensively up and down the lineup and averaged just under 14 runs per game. Juniors Malcolm Langner, Isaac Cyr and Harvey and seniors Bruce, Jon Bernard and Ryan Player are among the leading hitters.
Bangor Christian, a perennial title contender, enters the game with a 13-5 mark. The Patriots beat No. 7 Southern Aroostook (13-3) in the quarters and topped Shead of Eastport (9-1) in the semis on Saturday.
