BANGOR, Maine — One of the more unpredictable baseball teams in Eastern Maine Class B this spring has been Camden Hills of Rockport.
After winning their first six games en route to a 7-1 record at the midpoint of the regular season, the Windjammers won just twice in their final eight games.
Yet somehow from that lack of late-season momentum has come a championship, with coach Jeff Hart’s club winning its first regional title since 1999 on Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over Winslow at Mansfield Stadium.
“Baseball is a weird game, anything can happen basically,” said Camden Hills junior right fielder Michael Wolff, whose two-run double in the top of the first inning staked the sixth-ranked Windjammers to a 2-0 lead.
“You could be playing the worst baseball of your life, but it’s all about who’s hot in the playoffs. We haven’t really been hitting the ball well all year, but we just [started] better in the playoffs, and our pitching and defense have all come together.”
Camden Hills (13-7) will face defending champion Greely of Cumberland Center for the state crown at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. Greely (14-5) edged Cape Elizabeth 3-1 in eight innings in the Western B final.
Senior right-hander Ben Rollins was a profile in escapability on the mound for the Windjammers, scattering eight hits while striking out five batters, walking three and stranding nine Winslow baserunners — five in scoring position.
“Their pitcher did a good job of working out of jams every inning, it’s just baseball,” said Winslow coach Aaron Wolfe. “It just felt like when we did make contact it was always at people. He did a good job of mixing his speeds.”
Rollins relied primarily on a two-seam fastball during his 110-pitch, complete-game effort.
“Especially since we beat Belfast earlier in the playoffs, I’ve been controlling my two-seam really well, so that’s been my go-to non-off-speed pitch, and then I go get them with the curve ball,” he said.
Rollins was backed by stellar defense, particularly among outfielders Cam Gushee — starting for senior Matt Crockett, who left the team Sunday to join the Marines — Daulton Wickenden and Wolff.
The Windjammers also played with the lead throughout the contest after Wolff’s two-out double to left off Winslow right-hander Nate Gagnon opened the scoring in the top of the first.
Rollins was hit by the game’s first pitch and Wickenden reached on a third-strike passed ball before Wolff lined a first-pitch fastball over left fielder’s Dameron Rodrigue’s head to plate both runners.
“I was just looking for a fastball, and I was trying to get a pitch over the plate, and he gave it right to me,” said Wolff. “I just got a nice pitch to drive.”
Camden Hills made it 3-0 in the second when Dalton Oakes followed back-to-back two-out walks to Gushee and Rollins with a first-pitch RBI single to left.
That was it for Windjammer offense, as Gagnon allowed one more hit the rest of the way to finish with a three-hitter.
Rollins made the lead stand up despite allowing Winslow’s leadoff batter to reach base in four consecutive innings.
Fifth-seeded Winslow (15-5) scored an unearned run in the third as Rodrigue singled to right, reached third on a wild pitch and an infield error and scored on Rob Petrovic’s sacrifice fly to center.
The Black Raiders had three of their four batters reach base an inning later but came up empty as Camden Hills catcher Kyle Crans used a pitchout to throw Jake Trask out at second on a stolen-base attempt and Wolff threw out Spencer Miranda trying to advance from first to third on Ben Smith’s single to shallow right.
Winslow got its first two batters aboard in the fifth, but again Rollins escaped, this time with a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts.
Rollins retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced.
“Winslow’s had a lot of come-from-behind wins this year, so I wasn’t comfortable until we got the final out,” said Hart. “I was hoping we could put up eight or nine runs because I know what that team is like, but that just makes Ben’s performance even more impressive.”
