Written by Gabe Nason
Baseball Playoff Preview for Class D
The road to states begins this week in baseball and Class D has the potential to be one of the most exciting playoffs of all the classes. With a more open than usual north and highly competitive south there are plenty of storylines and players/teams to watch out for as we head into the week. My job is to make you aware of those, so you know what to look for when you are at the games this week.
St. Dominic
Let’s start at the reigning champions St. Dominic. They are once again the 3 seed in the south and will face Richmond in the semifinals for the second straight year, they split the regular season series 1-1 and played in a competitive 5-2 game last year in the semis. St. Dominic is led by top hitter Miles Frenette who not only hits the ball for power but is a base running threat stealing double digit steals this season. On the pitching side they have a strong a 2-man rotation with Ashton Hammond and Timothee Ouellette who have a 2.82 and 2.29 ERA respectively. The biggest weakness of this team is likely their defense as they sport 23 errors on the year.
Machias
In the same breath we must talk about the reigning North champs the Machias Bulldogs. They come in as the 7th seed and will need to beat Wisdom to get past the prelims and face Bangor Christian in the quarters. The Bulldogs lost three seniors from last year’s team who played big roles in their run to the state game, so a return to that spot will be a larger hill to climb. This iteration of the Bulldogs has Kason Fergerson at the helm being a two-way star for them boasting a .419 average and a 3.07 ERA. It hasn’t just been Fergeson who has got this team back to this point the rest of the team has 17 XBH and 79 SB, among which is Micky Fitzsimmons who has done a lot of everything for this team. He ended the regular season with a .415 OBP and 15 SB while pitching 24 innings on the year.
Searsport
If you are talking about contenders, you must talk about perennial threat the Searsport Vikings. The Vikings are the number one seed headed into the tournament and will face the winner of Forest Hills and Valley. The Vikings have been the number one seed six of the last seven tournaments and have appeared in the state game in five of those years winning all five times. This time around the Vikings is headed by a trio of Ellis’. Ashton Ellis being the leadoff hitter and number two in the rotation, with Gage Ellis being the ace having pitched most of the innings with a sub-3 ERA. Cole Ellis has sat in the three-hole for most of the year and has mashed the ball leading the team in XBH. Nate Ashey behind the plate brings balance to the team leading the team in stolen bases and being the constant defensive presence with a cannon for a right arm. If this teams plays to the level that they have shown against the likes of Bangor Christian and Bucksport they will be hard to beat for any team.
Bangor Christian
The big story in D North this year has been the performance of Jason Libby and the Bangor Christian Patriots. The Patriots finished one loss shy of a perfect season when the fell in the final game of the season against Searsport but that doesn’t change the fact that the two seed in the North has had an outstanding season. Jason Libby has set records this year with his pitching, but he has also mashed the ball hitting three homeruns on the year. Libby is coming off a Player of The Year season and the Patriots are coming off a semi-final loss to Stearns as the three seed last season. The Patriots have a balanced lineup that has limited strikeouts for most of the year and have a three-man rotation to go with it. If the Patriots can limit the mental mistakes that have plagued this team at times this year the will likely be a game or two from a state championship appearance. They will play the winner of Machias and Wisdom in the quarterfinals.
Katahdin
Katahdin comes in as the top seed in the North and comes off a disappointing prelim exit last year to Hodgdon and have shown the desire all season to avenge that loss and make a true run. The Cougars are an experienced squad returning all three of their highest-average hitters from last season (Grady Ritchie, Jeffery Martin, and Josh Martin) as well as their top two ERA leaders (Jeffrey Martin and Josh Martin). This team plays small ball extremely well stealing a lot of bases and having multiple players with 20+ steals on the season while stealing 132 on the season. Despite the loss last year, the Cougars have used it to improve and will face the winner of Stearns and Lee Academy in the quarters while holding home field for the entirety of the playoffs.
Richmond
The two-seed in the south is Richmond for the second year in a row. The Bobcats have torn the cover off the ball this season lead by Zander Steele who has three homeruns on the season and is hitting at a .547 average. This Bobcats team is young sporting only two seniors on the roster in Max Viselli and Connor Vashon. Five players on this team have 20 or more RBI four of which are sophomores and as a team they have 70 XBH’s and 75 SB’s. The Bobcats’ pitching staff is led by Wyatt Cassidy who has a 1.03 ERA going into the postseason. They have split the innings evenly between Cassidy, Rhys Terry, and Vashon. They will face St. Dominic in the quarters.
Woodland
Woodland led by new head coach Ryan Lincoln drew the third seed in the North behind a stellar campaign finishing 14-2 in the regular season. They are led by star pitcher Evan Curtis who has hovered around a 1 ERA all year long on most of the teams innings. Shain McIver is the star on the offensive side of the ball for the Dragons Leading the team in hits, doubles, and RBI. The Dragons will try to be the first Woodland team to win a semi-final game to advance to a regional title. If they continue with the way they played with the regular season with Ryan Lincoln at the helm, they have a shot to not only do that but get to a state game. They will get the winner of Fort Fairfield and Jonesport-Beals.
Hodgdon
Hodgdon will come back this year as the four seed after knocking out Katahdin last year but falling short to Bangor Christian in the quarterfinals. They come in as a four seed that has the potential to make waves, though the surface level stats will tell you this team may not have that chance to make a run the ability to steal bases and the large numbers of pitchers they have set them up to make a run and beat some teams that may overlook them. When you watch them play look out for Oisin Gardiner he has been the leading force hitting .558, 17 RBI, five doubles, three triples, and two homeruns. As a young team the experience of back-to-back playoff appearances will really help them in their search for a state title. They will face the winner of Madawaska and Southern Aroostook in the quarterfinals.
Valley
Valley enters these playoffs as the number four seed in the south and faces Forest Hills in the quarterfinals for a chance to get Searsport in the semis. Valley played Forest Hills four times in the regular season losing three of four, so they have an uphill climb to get past the Tigers and get a semi-final game. This will also be the Cavaliers first time they have been in a tournament game since 2021 and their first quarterfinal game since 2017. The Cavaliers also have a chance to win their first tournament game since 2016 when they made it to the regional title contest.
Forest Hills
Rounding out the south is Forest Hills at the five seed a year after they lost to Greenville in the quarterfinals. The Tigers are guided by Braiden Welch who has two home runs on the year to go with 21 stolen bases, both of which lead his team. It isn’t just Welch who has stolen a plentitude of bases, as 10 players on the team have 11 or more stolen bases on the year. On the defensive side Owen Lacasse leads the way as the ace of the Tigers boasting a 2.72 ERA in 18 innings. Expect this Tigers team to scratch and claw no matter what game they are in, especially if they are overlooked. They will face Valley in the quarterfinals with a chance to play Searsport in the semifinals.
Madawaska
Madawaska comes in as the five seed in the north with a prelim matchup against Southern Aroostook. The Owls are a veteran squad sporting five seniors and three juniors in the regular lineup. Carsen Cyr heads that veteran team with his .600 average with 23 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and a homerun, with 13 steals to go with it. Cyr also split pitching innings with fellow senior Ian Beaulieu with a 7.19 and 6.65 ERA Respectively. The Owls aren’t all upperclassmen though they trot out one freshman every game and he has shown everyone exactly why on both sides of the ball. Isaac Beaulieu in his first year of high school baseball hit .477 with 15 RBI while stealing 16 bases, on the pitching side he has thrown 18 innings for a 2.29 ERA. Watch out for these Owls in this tournament, even though they are the five seed they have shown all year how good they really are.
Fort Fairfield
Fort Fairfield is the six seed in the north, and they will play a prelim against Jonesport-Beals. The Tigers are led by Zak Gerhauser who leads the team in hits, RBI, and doubles. It isn’t just Garhauser though, all but four players who have hit this year are hitting under .300 and five of those also have 10 or more RBI. This team doesn’t just hit the ball though they have also stolen 133 bases on the year an absurd number especially for a team who hits the ball as well as they do. Where this team struggles are on the other side of the ball, they have 38 errors on the year, their one-two of Blake Senal and Graedon King though helps this team overcome those errors on the mound. Senal posts a 4.38 ERA in 24 innings while King posts a 3.50 ERA in 36 innings. The hot hitting Tigers will try to earn themselves a matchup with Woodland in the quarterfinals.
Stearns
Stearns was one win away a year ago from being in the state title game and with a lot of the players returning and a new head coach they look to get over the hump. The Minutemen are led by one-two tandem of Jack Morris and Aiden Sanders, as those two go so does the rest of the team. Morris and Sanders split the work on the mound this year and when they were on Stearns was hard to beat. In a winner or go home rest of the season the Minutemen must be taken seriously. With the experience they have the moment won’t be too big for them and they will always be in games, with a prelim matchup against Lee Academy they have their hands full but if this team can get past the Pandas watch out for them against top seeded Katahdin.
Lee Academy
Lee Academy comes in as the nine seed and looking for revenge after they were knocked out last year by the Minutemen in the quarterfinals. The Pandas are a team that work best together, their innings are split up the RBI spread out to all hitters, and most importantly the man at the helm Randy Harris has the experience to coach a team to a playoff win. They will have a difficult matchup in the Minutemen, but they were able to split the season series at a game a piece.
Wisdom
Wisdom though they are the 10 seed they have shown that they can score runs quick and early. This team has put up 20 or more runs in four different games this season, but they also showed they can win against playoff level teams when they swept the season series against Southern Aroostook holding them to only three runs in two games. Jack Desjardins leads the way with the stick while Dawsyn Searles and Michael Roach lead the way on the mound for this Pioneers team.
Jonesport-Beals
Jonesport-Beals has grown from last year and that’s seen in their seeding, moving from the 16 to the 11 seed. Damon Beal is the leader of this team on both sides of the ball, sporting a .444 average, 16 hits, 15 RBI, a 4.89 ERA, and 24 innings. With Beal on the mound this team has a chance against any team which became evident when the Royals beat the Woodland Dragons earlier this season. The Royals will have to get through Fort Fairfield though if they want another crack at the Dragons in the quarterfinals.
Southern Aroostook
The final team in this year’s Class D baseball playoff preview is the Southern Aroostook Warriors. The Warriors are the 11 seed but don’t let that number fool you they beat the number one seeded Katahdin Cougars. AJ Lewis leads the way for the Warriors with 20 hits on the year to go with 16 RBI and seven doubles leading the team offensively. The Warriors have struggled to put pitching together this year though with the team ERA sitting at 7.63. If Southern Aroostook can write the ship pitching wise, they will be a dangerous team in these playoffs.
