Washington Academy is headed back to the state championship game for the first time since 2014, as they would outlast Dexter/PCHS 1-0 in a classic pitchers duel in the Class C North Baseball Championship game played on Tuesday evening at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
Both starting hurlers were terrific in this one, pitting sophomore Trevor Shimabukuro for the Raiders against freshman Will Simpson for the Tigers. The only scoring came in the bottom of the first inning when Colby Mohalland would single with two outs. Daniel Gardner then would follow with another single to left, and an error by the leftfielder would allow Mohalland to come across the plate and score unearned. The best chance to score for Dexter came in the fifth with two men on and two outs, but Shimabukuro would strike out the side by punching out Brady Gaw to end the threat. Washington Academy also had an opportunity to extend their advantage in the last of the fifth after the first two batters reached, but Simpson induced a flyout and struckout the next two to get out of it. Shimabukuro capped off his complete game gem by retiring the Tigers in order in the seventh with two more strikeouts to send his team to the state title game for the first time in 11 years. The sophomore had five innings in the game where he struckout at least two batters in each frame.
Four different batters had one hit each for Washington Academy, with Moholland scoring the only run. Shimabukuro, Gardner, and James Welch had one stolen base each. Shimabukuro allowed six hits and didn’t walk anyone while striking out 11. Willis Rienhardt had two hits to lead the Dexter/PCHS offense. Simpson fired 6.0 brilliant innings giving up one run (none earned) on four hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. The #8 Tigers end a fantastic run to the regional final finishing as runner-up with a record of 13-7. The #2 Raiders, now 17-2, will face South Champion Monmouth in the state championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Josephs College in Standish.
