
FARMINGTON — The Messalonskee baseball team will be honest about it: A 9-7 regular season wasn’t the plan, given the talent it had returning.
What the defending Class A North champion did in the regular season, though, is meaningless compared to what happens going forward — and that part of the season is off to a good start.
Seventh-seeded Messalonskee claimed an 11-3 victory over No. 2 Mt. Blue in a Class A North quarterfinal Thursday at Hippach Field. The win sends the Eagles to Saturday’s semifinals against Bangor, which defeated Brunswick on Wednesday.
“Like (coach Eric Palin) reiterated to us, the regular season is just preseason for the playoffs,” said Messalonskee’s Denny Martin. “We’re gearing up for this time of year, and we came out today and played amazing.”
HOW MESSALONSKEE DID IT
• The Eagles (10-7) tagged Aiden Wilkins, who had a 0.21 ERA entering Thursday, with nine earned runs. After Ty Bernier hit a first-inning home run, Messalonskee scored again in the third and fourth before plating six runs in the fifth.
• Martin mowed his way through Mt. Blue’s lineup. The junior pitched three perfect innings and kept the Cougars (11-6) scoreless again in the fourth before the home team finally broke through with a pair of runs in the fifth.
• The Eagles made a series of incredible defensive plays. In the fourth, Bernier made an off-balance throw to nail Dane Cousineau at first and keep a run off the board. He then snagged a line drive in the fifth, and on the very next at-bat, Parker Reynolds made a terrific scoop in center to deny Nolan Leso.
“We finally put all three phases together, which I think we’ve only done two or three times all season,” Palin said. “Denny had some of the best stuff all season, and defensively, I think we have the capability to be one of the top defenses in the state. We made some plays to go along with our awesome offense.”
WHAT IT MEANS
• After a five-game skid in mid-May, Messalonskee has won four of its last five games. The Eagles now get a rematch with Bangor, which handed them the fifth of their five consecutive losses on May 21.
“We’ve just stayed true to our morals,” Bernier said. “In the middle of the year, we didn’t play our best defense, hence the five-game losing streak, but once we got to the playoffs, we played up to standards.”
• Mt. Blue’s most successful season in a decade ends in a one-and-done playoff appearance. The Cougars won seven of nine games to end the season, with both losses against Messalonskee.
THEY SAID IT
“I don’t think the guys will admit how big (Ty’s home run) was. To take a pitcher who doesn’t give up many earned runs and jump on him with our second batter of the game, you could just feel the energy skyrocketed. I can’t say enough about Ty; he’s the only player I’ve ever had who’s played varsity at all nine positions. He’s a leader.” — Eric Palin
“(Mt. Blue) can swing it — we knew that early on — and I just had to trust my defense. … Parker had that great play in center field, and Ty had that diving play at shortstop. We’re bodying balls, and we’re diving for balls; that’s that team that we are.” — Denny Martin
STAT LEADERS
• Messalonskee: Denny Martin (W, CG, 5 K, 3 ER; 2B, 1B); Ty Bernier (HR, 3 BB), Sean Achorn (2 1B, 2 SB, RBI), Logan Baron (1B, 2 RBI)
• Mt. Blue: Gary Harkins (2 1B, RBI), Dane Cousineau (2B)
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