BANGOR, Maine — St. Dominic Academy of Auburn freshman catcher Gavin Bates had been mired in a slump but he picked a perfect time to snap out of it.
Bates’ booming three-run double to left highlighted a four-run, first-inning rally and the Saints never looked back in beating Bucksport 14-4 in six innings for their fifth Class C baseball state championship in 11 years and first since 2011.
Bates also had two singles and a walk and drove in four runs as did senior first baseman Caleb Labrie, who had three singles.
The Saints unleashed a 17-hit barrage and also capitalized on three Bucksport errors and some balls that went for hits that could have been outs.
Every starter had at least one hit for St. Dom’s, which received a leadoff single in every inning.
Complementing Bates and Labrie were Mike Bryant (3 singles, RBI), Justin Keaney (2 singles) and Ray Mosca (2 singles).
The 16-5 Saints, the eighth seed in Western Maine C, finished with seven straight wins and 13 victories in their last 14 games.
Bucksport, the top seed in Eastern Maine C, wound up 15-5.
“I think this was the best game we’ve played all year,” said Bates. “We came through, we started to hit and it built a lot of confidence going up there [to the plate].”
The Saints didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard as Mosca’s infield popup was lost in the sun for a single before Bryant grounded a single to left, Mitch Lorenz bounced a single off the second baseman’s glove and Labrie was hit by an Asher Bowden pitch.
Bates then cleared the bases with his double over left fielder Dylan Soper’s head off a 2-1 fastball.
“I was just looking for something to drive,” said Bates. “That’s my first hit in the playoffs. I had been popping up so I lifted my hands up a little bit. I was just trying to get something to the outfield and he threw me a fastball down the middle. I took advantage of his misplacement of the ball.”
“That ball was crushed,” said lefty Bowden. “They’re a really good hitting team.”
Bowden’s RBI triple cut the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the first but St. Dom’s ’s answered.
Keaney singled to open the second and Bucksport coach Mike Cowing replaced lefty Bowden with righty Jake Gauvin.
After two quick outs, the Saints scored three unearned runs.
Bryant reached on an error, Lorenz walked, Labrie had an RBI single, a wild pitch produced the second run and an infield error produced the final run.
The lead ballooned to 9-1 in the third on Matt Keaney’s single, a third-strike passed ball, Bryant’s RBI single and Lorenz’s suicide squeeze bunt.
St. Dom’s expanded the lead with two more in the fourth on consecutive singles by Labrie, Bates, Ryan Harvey and Nate Richard (RBI) and a wild pitch.
Bates singled home a fifth-inning run and Labrie delivered two more with a single in the sixth.
“Our pitching has carried us in the playoffs but, for whatever reason, the floodgates opened up and the bats came alive today. And we took full advantage of it,” said St. Dom’s coach and 1977 Hermon High School graduate Bob Blackman, who has won all five state championship games at Mansfield Stadium.
“I love coming back here, I really do,” grinned Blackman.
“We finally started using the bats,” said Labrie. “The whole season, we had been trouble getting hits but Coach worked with us a lot on hitting this week and it paid off.”
“It was a perfect storm of how to lose a baseball game,” said Cowing. “They’re a good team but they capitalized on every mistake we made. You’ve got to give them credit for that.”
Senior lefty Lorenz went the distance for the win, allowing six hits and four runs, two earned, with two strikeouts and one walk.
“My curve was on today and my fastball felt good. I expected us to have a good game but not that good,” chuckled Lorenz.
“They’re a good team. They earned it, they deserved it,” said Bucksport senior first baseman Carter DeRedin, who doubled off the left-center-field fence in the sixth.
Soper singled twice and had an RBI and Hayden Craig doubled home a run for the Bucks.