BANGOR- Monmouth Academy overcame an early 4-0 deficit, and scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to rally past Washington Academy 5-4 in the Class C baseball state championship game at Mansfield Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It is the second straight state title for Monmouth, both over WA.
The Raiders came out swinging in the bottom of the first inning in scoring all four of their runs. Jayden Mahar had a two-run double and George Welch had a two-run single. The Mustangs shut down any run scoring from there, while their offense chipped away at the deficit. An infield single by Levi Leverdiere put them on the board for the first time in the third inning, and then a RBI single by Gavin Parsons and a bunt by Tyler Day that scored Zane Foyt would slice it to 4-3 in the fourth. The score stayed the same until the top of the seventh inning. Zane Foyt led off with a single, but was picked off at first base by Trevor Shimbukuro with Bryce Fletcher at bat. Fletcher would then work a walk, while Leverdiere singled, and Harmon also walked to load the bases. Noah Schultz was next up and would single into rightfield to tie it, and after the ball was bobbled by the Raiders Parker Cates a second runner scored on the error to give Monmouth their first lead. Leverdiere then finished off his complete game on the mound by retiring WA in order in the last of the seventh to end it.
Shimabukuro had two hits for Washington Academy, while Mahar and George Welch drove in two runs each. Shimabukuro was tagged with the loss on the mound allowing five runs (four earned) on 12 hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 6.1 innings. The North Champion Raiders finish as the runner-up with a record of 18-2. Zane Foyt had three hits for Monmouth, while Leverdiere, Schultz, and Parsons had two hits each. Fletcher scored two runs. Leverdiere in his complete game on the hill gave up four runs on eight hits with five walks and eight strikeouts to earn the victory. The Mustangs finish at 19-1 with their third Class C title in school history, and sixth overall.
