BREWER, Maine — Teams that move down a class due to enrollment changes often find immediate success as the suddenly larger school within its new smaller-school division.
But there was no easy way to predict such success for the Brewer High School baseball team, which this spring is competing in Class B for the first time after being a Class A mainstay for generations.
This was a vastly different team from its immediate predecessor, the 2017 club that was ranked second in Class A North last spring before being upset by No. 7 Mt. Ararat of Topsham 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
The only returning starter is Kobe Rogerson, a fixture on the left side of the infield since his freshman year, when the Witches reached the 2015 Eastern Maine Class A championship game but dropped a 1-0 decision to Bangor and current University of Maine left-hander Trevor DeLaite.
Rogerson also is one of only four seniors on Brewer’s 13-player roster along with Josiah Cyr, Ben Byorak and Evan Andrews, who returned to the team after sitting out his junior year. That group was joined by four juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
While a championship may not have been part of the expectation equation when preseason practices commenced in March, it’s now the reality in mid-June after the Witches edged top-ranked Ellsworth 4-2 in Wednesday night’s Class B North final at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
“I wasn’t thinking this far ahead,” said junior catcher Andrew Kiley. “I was taking it game by game, but now we’re here and we’ve got one more to win.”
Kiley had the key hit of Wednesday’s game as second-seeded Brewer captured its first regional championship since the 2008 team, guided by current Bangor coach Dave Morris, won the Eastern Maine A crown.
That was a one-out triple to deep left field in the top of the sixth inning that drove home Rogerson to break a 2-2 tie.
“That was actually a hit-and-run,” said Rogerson. “Andy has so much power to the gaps. On a hit-and-run when someone puts one to the fence you can just keep running so it’s nice to have someone behind you like that.”
Kiley’s blast in support of Cyr’s two-hit pitching was merely the latest step in a methodical progression to the opportunity to win Brewer’s first baseball state championship. The 14-5 Witches face 17-2 South champion Wells at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mansfield Stadium.
“It was a growing process,” said Brewer coach Dana Corey. “Some of them hadn’t been around (assistant coach Dennis) Kiah and myself before and we’re both maybe-the-glass-is-half-full guys. There’s not a good cop and bad cop there, although I’m probably the more light-hearted of the two of us, but the kids worked hard for us.”
While Cyr and Andrews emerged as the team’s top two pitchers, the Witches had to overcome some offensive struggles that put a cramp in Corey’s strategic style.
“There were some tough times hitting,” Corey said, “and then all of a sudden they started to hit and get the ball in play and then we could start to do some hit-and-runs and some bunting.”
Brewer closed out a regular season that included just one loss to a Class B opponent — Class A Bangor and Hampden each beat the Witches twice — with four victories in its final five games.
“They worked hard in practice and remained focused but we were still able to have some light-hearted times during practice, which we’ve had these last couple of weeks when we’ve focused on playing against the game of baseball and not against a specific opponent,” Corey said.
One specific opponent remains in Wells, the top-ranked team from Class B South. The program already has experienced significant success during the 2017-2018 school year including state championships in football (Class D) and wrestling (Class B) along with a state final appearance in basketball (Class B).
“It’s amazing,” said Cyr. “What else could you ask for at the end of your senior year?”
Follow BDN Maine Sports on Facebook for the latest in Maine high school and college sports.
