Cougars-Warriors to clash for Class D title at Mansfield Stadium

    The Warriors will take on the Katahdin Cougars for the Class D title this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
    The last time these two teams met was on May 1 and the Warriors were defeated, 7-5.
    This will be the 14th time a Southern Aroostook team has appeared in an Eastern Maine championship, and coach Murray Putnam takes nothing for granted.
    “It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “We will go to the well again, see what happens and give it our best shot.”
    The same keys for success in the early games still apply for the title game, according to Putnam.
    “We need to play impeccable defense and we cannot give clubs five and six outs an inning,” he said. “We need to stay ahead on the pitch count and we need to put the ball in play to generate offense.”
     The Hornets suffered a bad break in the first inning of play on Saturday, literally, as Carl Nemer fractured his leg when he slid into second base, setting back Ashland’s momentum.
    The Warriors scored after Cody Robinson reached base on a fielder’s choice and Sleeper knocked in Robinson for a 1-0 lead.
    Sleeper, who threw a three-hitter against the Hornets, gave up back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first inning. After Tyler Cote and Nemer reached base for the Hornets, Nemer attempted to steal second base and on the ensuing throw to the base, Nemer and second baseman Boulier collided on a clean play. Unfortunately, Nemer was hurt. The Hornets were able to drive a run across the plate despite the incident.
    To start the second inning, with one out, Josh Branscombe doubled, followed by a walk to Stephen Grant, who stole second. Tyler Robinson singled in Branscombe then Boulier hit a two-run single, as the Warriors extended their lead, 5-1.
    In the top of the fourth, Southern Aroostook added three more runs on back-to-back hits by Boulier and Robinson and a long triple by Sleeper to knock in both runners. Sleeper eventually scored on a fielder’s choice play on an errant throw.
    The Hornets were able to add another run in the bottom of the fourth, 8-2, but the Warriors were too much as they scored six more runs in the top of the fifth on multiple hits, capitalizing on Ashland miscues, as well. The Warriors held Ashland in the bottom of the frame, as the 10-run rule was in effect ending the game.
    Boulier led the Warriors offensively going 2-for-4 from the plate and driving in two runs, while Robinson went 2-for-3, including a triple and two RBIs. Sleeper turned in a perfect performance from the mound, striking out eight, and going 4-for-4 from the plate, including a triple and five RBIs.
    The Hornets had swept the Warriors on the season, shutting them out 4-0 in Ashland, with the Warriors getting a hit in the seventh, and in the teams’ second meeting in Dyer Brook, the Hornets had won, 5-1.
    “We lived to go another day,” Putnam said.
    The Warriors took the Murray W. Putnam field on a windy Friday afternoon, as they defeated the Fort Fairfield Tigers by a score of 7-4 in the Class D quarterfinals.
    The Warriors displayed their domination from the opening pitch as starting pitcher Sleeper, who struck out four of the first five batters he faced. Sleeper would continue to mow down the Fort Fairfield hitters while throwing three straight one, two, three innings, allowing only one walk and accumulating eight strikeouts in three innings of no-hit baseball.
    He would be aided by outstanding defense displayed by his teammates, including a great diving catch by second basemen Boulier that would keep Sleeper‘s no-hitter alive.
    The Warriors would also strike first on the scoreboard as Sleeper helped his own cause with an RBI-double that would be followed up by another run-scoring double hit by Flewelling.
    Southern Aroostook took an early 3-0 lead and never looked back. They would continue their early offense in the bottom of the third inning with back-to-back singles by Flewelling and Boulier, and a sacrifice fly by Grant for a 5-0 lead.
    In the fourth inning, the Warriors would add on to their big lead after Flewelling knocked in his second RBI of the game. They would continue to do damage with two outs, as they would tack on another run and end the inning with a 7-0 edge.
    In the top of the fifth and sixth innings, the Tigers would tack on their first three runs of the game and would slow down the Warriors’ offense as they went down relatively quietly.
    But even with a late seventh inning rally where the Tigers added on another run, the Warriors would be able to maintain a 7-4 lead with a perfectly executed 5-4-3 double play, and some well-timed strikeouts.