LIMESTONE, Maine — For the first time in school history, the Eagle baseball team has earned a berth into the regional championship.
Limestone-MSSM will take on Bangor Christian at 3 p.m. this afternoon at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor with an Eastern Maine Class D title on the line.
The Eagles reached this point by winning three consecutive playoff games. The run began last Tuesday with a 16-0 victory over No. 12 Katahdin in the preliminary round and continued Thursday with a 7-4 triumph at No. 4 Fort Fairfield in the quarterfinals.
On Monday, the Eagles defeated No. 8 Woodland of Baileyville in the semifinal round and used the dominant pitching of senior righthander Chris Bernier in the 2-1 vicory.
Bernier struck out 15 batters in the complete-game performance. He scattered four hits and allowed only a single run in the top of the sixth inning.
“Chris has demonstrated the characteristics of what an ace truly does in the playoffs,” said Eagle first-year coach Eric McGough. “Given our strong pitching depth, we have had the luxury of not overworking Chris during the regular season.
“He was able to come into the playoffs very fresh, and I believe that’s what has allowed him to give us the innings that he has throughout the playoffs,” the coach added.
Bernier had also gone the distance in his team’s win over the Tigers and also started the prelim against the Cougars.
In the victory Monday, the Eagles scored both of their runs in the second inning. Tyler Morgan and Sam Kupiec both reached on singles before Paul Gentile brought both in on a run-scoring two-out single.
McGough said superior baserunning by Kupiec allowed what proved to be the game-winning run to score. He got a great jump off first base when Gentile made contact and made his way around the bases.
“He rounded the bases perfectly and did not hesitate for a split second when rounding third,” said the coach.
Otherwise, Woodland starter Tyler Cochran was brilliant. He pitched shutout baseball the rest of the way and finished with six strikeouts.
In Limestone-MSSM’s win over Fort Fairfield, Bernier was the offensive hero with a double and a pair of singles. Dylan Nadeau also had three hits for the Eagles, who scored three times in the top of the seventh to break a 4-4 tie.
Dalton Cassidy had three hits and Ryan Pelkey doubled and singled for the Tigers. Carter Bruce went all seven innings and took the loss on the mound.
Last Tuesday against Katahdin, the Eagles slammed out 14 hits in the rout. Gordon McCulloh doubled and tripled and scored four runs, while Tristan Kirk, Andy Whitman, Bernier, Morgan and Gentile had two hits each.
Due to the pitching rule, McGough won’t be able to use Bernier on the mound in today’s championship game, but said he has four other pitchers available and ready to contribute.
“We know that there will be an exceptional team occupying the other dugout, so we are prepared to pitch however the situation demands,” he said. “Pitching and defense are the crucial elements for making a long run in the playoffs, and our team has continued to take pride [in that side of the game].”
