BY TRAVIS LAZARCZYK

Staff Writer

Matt Lee hadn’t played baseball since eighth grade. Josh Gormley hadn’t been on a diamond since Little League. Yet without them, the Waterville Senior High School baseball team would not be playing in its fourth consecutive regional championship game today, trying to win a third straight Class B state title.

“We wouldn’t be here without them right now,” Waterville coach Don Sawyer said. “Those two kids coming out for the team changed us dramatically from what we thought we were going to have back.”

No. 2 Waterville (17-1) plays No. 4 Foxcroft Academy (14-5) in the Eastern B title game at 7 tonight at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. The winner is back at Mansfield on Saturday for the state championship game.

Gormley took over in left field and Lee became the Purple Panthers’ shortstop, stabilizing two positions that were question marks at the start of the season. Their presence gives the Panthers speed in the bottom half of the lineup, helping Waterville average nearly 10 runs per game. Gormley has a .343 batting average with 19 runs scored. Lee is hitting .275 with 20 runs scored and a team-high 14 stolen bases.

“At the beginning of the year, hitting was definitely a challenge,” Gormley said. “I started taking extra reps after practice. The coaches really helped me with my mechanics. I’ve been able to adjust.”

Added Lee: “It was probably the hardest thing. Being in the field is like blocking a shot in hockey. You just can’t be afraid of the ball. Hitting is completely different than anything I’ve done. I bet half of my hits are by bunts.”

Gormley and Lee joined the baseball team on the advice of friends. Gormley thought it would be fun and a good way to stay active. Lee, who spent the winter playing hockey with the Portland Junior Pirates, wanted to have one more chance to compete alongside his best friend, J.T. Whitten.

At the beginning of the season, Sawyer expected Lee and Gormley to both find spots in the outfield. The Panthers had one returning outfielder, centerfielder Racean Wood and he was out for the first half of the season recovering from a knee injury.

Gormley settled into left field, but when shortstop Tyler Bouchard suffered a shoulder injury, Lee was asked to play a position he’d never played.

“We tried three kids at shortstop. We’re out here, hitting the ball around one day, Matty seems to take to it,” Sawyer said. “We just started drilling him, drilling him, drilling him. He took it upon himself to try and make himself better, which he certainly did.”

“When Tyler got hurt, I just stepped into short,” Lee said. “I was kind of nervous at first, I’d never really played there. Now I feel comfortable there.”

Playing smack dab in the middle of things also gives Lee a chance to use what he feels is one of his greatest leadership characteristics, his mouth.

“Coach Sawyer knows I have a big mouth,” Lee said. “I like to talk a lot. I just feel like I can be vocal and not get yelled at. Being vocal is the type of leader I usually am.”

Sawyer said Lee’s confidence and experience in big hockey games rubs off on the team.

“He’s an aggressive kid. He knows what he wants to do. Sometimes he gets a little frustrated as to what he can and cannot do. There’s no doubt in his ability to do things,” Sawyer said. “When you’re playing out there and you’re on your own, you either make the play or you don’t. He’s got big game experience like that, so he’s pretty calm. He didn’t go out there and panic the other day.”

The Panthers’ confidence has to be at its peak after their improbable win over John Bapst on Saturday. Trailing the Crusaders 13-1 in the fifth inning, Waterville rallied for a 14-13 win.

“A lot of people had their heads down,” Gormley said. “We had to get picked up. We came together and faced a lot of adversity and we were up to the challenge.”

It was a quip by Whitten, when the Panthers were down 12-0 in the third inning, that helped loosen the team up, Lee said.

“J.T. came to the mound and said ‘I bet you five bucks we win this game.’ I feel like that lightened us up a little bit,” Lee said.

Now, the Panthers must move past Saturday’s come-from-behind win and prepare for an unknown opponent in Foxcroft Academy. The Ponies are back in Class B after a couple of years in Class C and feature one of the top pitchers in the state in Ryan Rebar.

A junior, Rebar has a 7-1 record and an earned run average of 0.50. In 56 innings, Rebar has 59 strikeouts and 17 walks. On Saturday, Rebar struck out nine and allowed one hit in six innings to lead the Ponies over Camden Hills, 6-0.

“He must be a pretty good pitcher,” Sawyer said. “He’s gotten them this far and they’re going to throw him again.”

Waterville counters Rebar with a potent lineup. Led by Whitten, a finalist for the Dr. John Winkin Award. Whitten is hitting .450 with 28 runs scored and 27 runs batted in. Bouchard (.462), Lance Lefebvre (.433), Dan Pooler (.420) and Wood (.405) are also hitting over .400 for the Panthers.

Sawyer has a few options for the mound, including Whitten (8-1, 1.84), lefty Brian Bellows (4-0, 0.55) and freshman A.J. Godin (4-0, 3.37).

Offensively, the Ponies are led by Hunter Law (.396, 18 runs), Rebar (.361, 16 runs), Caleb Richard (.355, 22 runs), and Cody Coiley (.344, 18 RBIs).

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

[email protected]