Members of the Mt. Ararat baseball team huddle around coach Brett Chase during a game Tuesday against Brunswick. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — With the high school baseball season winding down, Mt. Ararat will enter the postseason no worse than the No. 4 seed in Class A North.
The Eagles (11-5), who have enviable pitching depth and a strong lineup, are well-positioned for what they hope will be a deep playoff run.
“We have been a low seeded team (recently) and now this year we can go in as a higher seed so we’re excited and ready to play,” said senior Ryan Robertson.
The Eagles last won a playoff game in 2018. That year, they also finished 11-5 and entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed. They beat Edward Little before losing to Oxford Hills in the A North semifinals.
Bangor and Oxford Hills are the top two teams in A North this spring, but the Eagles are in position to avoid a preliminary round game, an advantage in the pitch count era.
Mt. Ararat senior catcher Ryan Robertson calls for time during a game Tuesday against Brunswick. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
“It’s everybody, we’re all together,” said coach Brett Chase in regards to the Class A North field. “Once you get past those two it’s whoever makes the plays that will have a chance. If we defend and throw strikes, we’re pretty good.”
After a 3-3 start that included losses to Yarmouth, Bangor and Oxford Hills, the Eagles went 8-2 in their final 10 games. Out of those wins, seven were by three runs or less and five were decided by just a run.
“We knew at the beginning of the season we’d come out and be sneaky good and surprise a lot of teams and we have done that all season,” said Robertson of their success. ”It’s the simple stuff. We try to play simple and make it look boring. All preseason, all season long, every practice, all practice, we grind. We’re grinders.”
“It’s been a good season, these guys have battled,” added Chase.
The losses were tough, including a 5-3 decision to cross-town rival Brunswick in the regular season finale Tuesday. But coach Chase and his staff — Bubba Henke and former Mt. Ararat standout and MLB pitcher Mark Rogers — say that while the losses were frustrating, they also provided valuable learning moments.
Mt. Ararat freshman Ethan Berry field a bunt and throws to first base during a game Tuesday against Brunswick. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
“(Tuesday) we thought we could just show up and play. (Sam) Masse threw the ball fantastic and we slept-walked through seven innings. We’re talented but not that talented,” said Chase, who took over the program in 2018. “We’ve been really sound defensively. (Against Brunswick) we didn’t throw strikes and we didn’t make plays in the field, which is uncharacteristic. We’ve got to clean it up before the playoffs so we’ll work at it.”
Offensively, the top three hitters on the squad — Robertson, Landen Chase and Shea Farrell — are hitting .358. They have combined for 15 doubles, three triples. Chase, Brett’s son, also has homered this season.
There is a good mixture of seniors, juniors and a few udnerclassmen who have contributed. Robertson, Carson Taylor, Tucker Swanson, Chris Brady and Gage Armstrong are seniors. Taylor and Robertson each have a pair of wins on the mound.
Landen Chase and Farrell, along with Ryan Staples and Brady Merrill, are juniors. Sophomore Parker Lohr adds depth off the bench for the Eagles.
Mt. Ararat starts a pair of freshman in the infield, shortstop Andrew Clemons and second baseman Ethan Berry, who also has three victories on the mound. Berry is tied with Landen Chase for the team lead in wins.
“We have a few freshmen mixed in that have never been on a varsity field before and we expected a lot out of them coming from an eighth-grade field to a varsity field and they have done nothing but good things,” Robertson said.
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