BANGOR — When Freeport High scored two runs in the top of the first inning, it looked good for the overachieving, underdog Falcons against favored Old Town.
Freeport had allowed only three runs in its last three playoff games, and the Coyotes had not scored more than three runs in any playoff game.
But Old Town broke out the bats Saturday afternoon and romped past Freeport, 12-2 in five inings, for the Class B state baseball championship at Mansfield Stadium.
Austin Sheehan’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning ended the game, via the mercy rule.
Old Town (19-1), the top seed out of the North, won its first baseball championship. The Coyotes had finished runner-up twice in the 1990’s as a Class A school.
Freeport, seeded seventh out of the South, was making its first appearance in a state title game and finished 14-7.
“It was a heck of a ride,” Freeport Coach Bill Ridge said.
Colby Wagner’s RBI single and Josh Burke’s sacrifice fly gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead, firing up a large and loud Freeport contingent.
“That was real exciting,” Ridge said. “Good for our guys to have that moment. That’s what the past week has felt like.
“Then we went into the bottom of the first inning and that’s a heck of a team. That’s the best hitting team we’ve seen all year.”
Old Town put together five singles, a sacrifice fly and the first of two successful double steals, to take a 4-2 lead.
“We weren’t expecting it, to say the least,” Wagner said. “But no one was down. It just didn’t go our way.”
Old Town scored four unearned runs in the second inning, with two Freeport errors helping out, for an 8-2 lead.
The Coyotes finished with 13 hits – 12 singles and Sheehan’s double.
“We just had to re-group,” said Sheehan. “We got a couple of base hits. We capitalized on their mistakes and we went from there. We had struggled offensively (in the playoffs), but we just got the bats going.”
Sheehan finished with two hits and three RBI. Jacob Ketch also knocked in two runs. Junior pitcher Ethan Stoddard helped his cause with two RBI singles.
After giving up two walks (one intentional), a single and two runs in the first, Stoddard was rarely threatened after that.
“He didn’t look loose there in the beginning. He looked tight. He looked tense,” Old Town Coach Brad Goody said. “But he definitely settled down. He’s stepped up huge this year.”
In that first inning, Freeport’s Max Doughty worked a full-count walk to lead off. Joey Burke bunted him over to second. Jack Davenport was intentionally walked and Wagner followed with a RBI single to right. Davenport went to third, and scored on Burke’s sacrifice fly to center.
But then Old Town got going, with every player in the lineup getting a hit. Freeport used three pitchers – Josh Burke (11/3 innings), Austin Langley (11/3) and Josh Spaulding (12/3). The Falcons made four errors.
“They were spraying singles all over the place – hard-hit singles,” Ridge said. We didn’t really help ourselves, but they were hitting the ball hard.
“They were aggressive. When they got a pitch to hit, they took advantage of it.”
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