Heading into Thursday’s regular season finale against “Battle of the Bridge” foe Mt. Ararat, the Brunswick High School baseball team already had a successful season with seven wins after a combined 3-45 over the previous three seasons.  

But these Dragons wanted more. With a 7-8 record and hovering around the final playoff berth in the Class A North Heal Point Standings, a Brunswick win almost assured a spot in the upcoming tourney. 

Despite gutsy performances all around from the Dragons, strong pitching and all kinds of hitting from the Eagles likley ended those hopes as Mt. Ararat came away with a 6-3 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.  

“That’s a real good team over there,” Brunswick coach Craig Rogers said. “They have a lot of seniors and are strong in many areas. They’re going to be tough in the playoffs.” 

With the final results available in the coming days, Mt. Ararat finished the regular season at 9-7 and is currently sitting sixth in the Heal Points. The Dragons concluded the season at 7-9 and is in ninth, behind Skowhegan (8-8), which beat Messalonskee on Thursday. Skowhegan currently holds down the No. 8 spot, with a handful of games to played today on the final days of the regular season.  

“I could not be more proud of these guys,” Rogers said. “No one expected us to be in this position at the end of the season. They worked really hard to get to this point.” 

For the Eagles, losers of their last two, the win comes just in time for postseason play. 

“We haven’t been playing well and we needed to come out and have a game like this,” Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase said. “I thought we competed better. We didn’t let any adversity get to us today, letting one error turn into more. We have struggled with our focus, and I thought today we focused much better.” 

Like the first meeting earlier this month (a 4-3 Mt. Ararat win in nine innings), each team plated a run in the first. Hunter Lohr scored the first run for the visitors, coming around to score on a Cody Holman single off starter Noah Goddard.  

Brunswick evened the game when Goddard scored on a wild pitch after a leadoff single and a stolen base. 

The Eagles took the lead in third after Lohr and Damon each singled and scored on Holman’s second hit.  

“My mindset was to watch the ball come in and make contact,” Holman said. “I was just trying to square up and make contact.” 

Brunswick threatened in the third, as Goddard reached base on his second hit. But Mt. Ararat pitcher Ben Freeman caught him leaning and threw to first to catch him in a run–down for a caught stealing.  

A bad hop resulting in an infield error, a walk and a delayed double steal, put the tying runs in scoring position for the Dragons. But Freeman reared back and got the strike out to end the inning. 

“I got behind (the batter) and coach told me to hit my spots,” Freeman said. “I needed to make the adjustment because I was throwing high instead of throwing low. Once I did, I hit my spots and (the batter) didn’t make contact with the last one.” 

“He’s been throwing the ball well. I figured if we could get three innings from Ben today we’d be good,” Chase said. 

Mt. Ararat had four hits, including a Lohr RBI single in the fourth, but an out on the base–paths and a fine defensive play by Goddard on a line drive back to the mound to end the frame held the Eagles to just one run. 

Damon relieved Freeman after a leadoff walk in the fourth, and after surrendering a walk of his own, the right-hander induced a flyout to right to keep the score 4-1. 

Brunswick rallies 

The Dragons battled back in the fifth. Damon struck out the leadoff batter of the inning, but then lost the next three hitters to walks. The senior hurler nearly escaped, picking up a strikeout for the second out, but a pinch-hit single by Alex Dunton scored Goddard and Coenradt Taylor. However, another out on the bases ended the threat for the Dragons. 

“We really shot ourselves in the foot with making mistakes on the bases today,” Rogers said. “It’s something we’ve been working on as it’s been a struggle for us.” 

The Eagles scored a pair of insurance runs in the top of fifth to push the lead back to three runs. Kyle Secone notched his second hit with a one-out single, followed by Dionne’s third base–knock of the afternoon. After a hard line out to center by Lohr, Damon drilled a Goddard pitch to the fence in left, scoring pinch-runner Kobe Clark and Dionne. Damon rounded second base on the relay throw, but Brunswick shortstop Henry Burnham threw behind the runner for the final out of the inning. 

Damon worked around an infield error in the seventh to secure the win. 

The Eagles finished with 13 hits, receiving multiple-hit games from Dionne, Lohr, Damon, Secone and Holman. 

Dionne and Holman each had three hits in the win. Holman finished with three RBIs and a double on the day. 

“I took it as a sign when my bat grip started ripping. So, I wanted to start with something fresh, so I grabbed a different bat today,” Holman said. “I had a different mentality, a little more calm and a little more patient.” 

Chase liked that “mentality” Holman spoke of. 

“Cody doesn’t let anything bother him. He goes up to the plate and battles,” Chase said. 

Freeman earned the win, allowing just two hits while striking out three and walking three in three–plus innings of work. Damon’s final four innings saw just one Brunswick hit, as the senior struck out five and had four bases on balls. 

Chase thinks the Eagles are ready for the postseason. 

“We’re in a good spot, as much as we haven’t played well in the last couple of weeks, I see we’re headed in the right direction,” added the Eagles coach. 

For Brunswick, three seniors — Cam Dunton, Cam Daly and Sam Sharpe — likely saw their last day on the BHS diamond.  

“We gave it a shot today,” Cam Dunton said. “No one expected (7-9), we did great this year. A lot of surprising things happened. It was a good year for us. We’ve got some talent coming back, they should do well next year. 

“Again, the work these players put in, I am very proud,” Rogers said. “We held our fate in our own hands and it just didn’t work out. We played well down the stretch and I hope to see that carry on with our underclassmen next year.” 

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