The Southern Aroostook Warriors (14-1) are the top ranked team in the Class D Heal Point standings and have an automatic bid to the quarterfinals on Thursday, as they host the winner of No. 8 Woodland/No. 9 Stearns.
The game is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Dyer Brook. A time had not be decided upon at presstime.
“Our quarterfinal matchup, in my opinion, will be one of the toughest opponents in the playoffs,” said Southern Aroostook coach David Day.
The Warriors played Woodland twice, with the last meeting going into eight innings.
“Woodland proposes a challenge for us as far as our running game goes,” said Day. “We have only been thrown out four times this year stealing, and their catcher has three of those.”
As far as Stearns, the Warriors have not played them this season. After winning the state title in Class C last year, and still playing a Class C schedule, Stearns is flying under the radar at 9-7, Day noted.
“Either team is going to be a true test for us,” he said. “Regardless of where a team is in the playoffs, I have communicated to my kids that any team has a chance to go to the finals. Whether you are in first or 13th, everyone has a clean slate with no wins or losses. The team who plays to their capabilities and avoids the mental mistakes will be the team to go all the way.”
For the last two years, the Southern Aroostook boys have shown tenacity and skill to reach the Class D Eastern Maine championship. Each year, they faced perennial power Bangor Christian. In 2012, the Warriors bowed to the Patriots, 8-3 and last year, the No. 4 Warriors were overpowered by Bangor Christian, 17-0.
At the very beginning of each season, a coach poses a question to his players. What is your goal for this year? Though there are a variety of answers, Day said the ultimate goal is for each team to work toward a state title.
“In order to do that, players must believe in that premise, improve as players, and as a team throughout the season, continue to do the right things, recover from mistakes, and more importantly, have fun doing it,” he explained. “I think we have done all of those things this season.”
The number-one ranking is an added plus for the coach and his players.
“I am a bit surprised landing in first, during the playoffs, because of all the good teams in Class D,” he said. “I think all of the crazy weather this spring created havoc on teams that didn’t necessarily have a lot of pitching for back-to-back games, with doubleheaders thrown in for good measure. I think that is why some teams end up losing games that maybe they shouldn’t have.”
Day quickly noted the Warriors were no exception to Mother Nature’s impact, as they already had four makeup games before playing their first game of the season.
“We were fortunate enough to have six kids who could pitch and get us through the ‘five games in six days,’ scenarios,” he explained. “Other teams weren’t so lucky.”
One of the Warriors’ strengths this season, according to their coach, is their offensive prowess.
“Everyone has contributed in one way or another from the leadoff to the number nine,” he said. “These kids know how to put the ball in play and create opportunities on the bases. We run, run, run. As a team, we shattered our stolen base total from last year.”
The Warriors’ defensive presence has been a bit spotty through the year.
“Defensively, we have been fairly solid throughout the season, however, we have had some ‘moments’ in the past four or five games where we have had dig ourselves out of hole,” Day said. “ We are very young in the outfield, with two freshmen and a junior. After losing a senior centerfielder the third game of the year due to injury, it has been a struggle at times out there, but they are improving every day.”
