Last summer’s American Legion baseball state tournament ended in stunning fashion, with Bangor’s Coffee News Comrades scoring seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally past Morrill Post of South Portland 12-9 in the championship game.
That uprising came immediately after Morrill Post had scored seven runs of its own in the top of the inning to take apparent control of the game, which was played on that team’s home field at the Wainwright Complex in Portland.
That Coffee News was able to regroup so quickly was perhaps the best evidence of the momentum Bangor’s combined high school and American Legion programs carry into this year’s state Legion tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Capitol Area Recreation Association complex in Augusta.
Coffee News enters the event as the two-time defending state Legion champion, and its roster consists of players who also have won one or more state championships during the spring as contributors to Bangor High School’s current string of three Class A crowns.
Four Comrades, Kyle Stevenson, Peter Kemble, Ben Crichton and Ryan Brookings, have been part of all five high school and Legion championships during the current run. Two others, Andrew Hillier and Sam Huston, have played key roles on the high school’s 2014 and 2015 title teams and are in search of their third Legion crowns this week.
Hillier, who this past year played at the University of Southern Maine, was the 2014 state Legion tournament MVP for Coffee News. Huston, now playing at Husson University, won the same honor at the 2015 state Legion tourney.
The Comrades enter their 10 a.m. state tournament opener against Zone 3 runner-up Coastal Landscape of Portland with a 63-22 record over the last three seasons, including 18-5 this summer.
But while the territory is familiar, Coffee News’ status is somewhat different this week as it seeks to become the first team to win three straight state Legion titles since Nova Seafood of Portland won four in a row between 2001 and 2004 — with the 2004 team going on to win the national championship.
“It was a great effort by every single kid,” said Coffee News coach Dave Morris. “It’s a long season, and to come in here and win three games in a row to win the whole thing is just a tribute to what our kids are like.”
While Bangor will rank among the favorites in this year’s state tournament, Zone 1 runner-up Post 16 of Skowhegan (16-10) has drawn perhaps the other favorite in Zone 3 champion Yankee Ford (19-1) of South Portland for its opener at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Yankee Ford, which used a ninth-inning rally to outlast Coastal Landscape in the Zone 3 title game, is essentially the renamed Morrill Post team from a year ago.
But coach Roger Stinson’s Skowhegan club — comprised of players from four Somerset County schools in Skowhegan, Madison, Carrabec of North Anson and Valley of Bingham — has steadily built its own momentum during the last two weeks and with a deep pitching staff that includes University of Maine-bound Cody Laweryson figures to represent a tough challenge for any opponent.
“Sometimes when you get to the tail end of the season you see teams that not only jell together but get better, and I think that team really played hard and has deserved what they’ve got,” said Morris. “I think they’re going to be a great representative for our zone at the state tournament.”
Wednesday’s other opening-day games at the eight-team, double-elimination state tourney match undefeated Zone 2 champion Pastime of Lewiston (21-0) against Zone 4 runner-up Wells (17-3) at 11:30 a.m. and Zone 4 champion Fayette-Staples of Saco (15-3) against Zone 2 runner-up Rogers Post of Auburn (17-4) at 4 p.m.
The tournament continues through Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Northeast Regional tournament scheduled for Aug. 3-8 at Bristol, Connecticut.
