The Brewer baseball team was on the wrong side of a one-eight upset last June.
On Wednesday, the Witches found themselves on the right side of one — against the top-ranked team in the state.
Led by senior ace Grady Vanidestine, No. 8 seed Brewer exited Bordick Park in Hampden with a stunning 1-0 victory over the No. 1 Broncos in a Class A quarterfinal game.
The Witches scored the only run of the game in the top of the first, and Vanidestine did the rest, going 6.2 innings with 11 strikeouts on 112 pitches.
Brewer (8-9) collected just two hits all game. Hampden (15-2) had five.
“It’s just an awesome feeling. Last year we had our hearts broken [ by Edward Little], and this year we’re flipping the script,” Vanidestine said. “We were really confident coming into the game, had nothing to lose, and left it all out there. It was a battle for me today.”
Hampden junior Kaysen Wildman pitched a terrific game of his own, going all seven innings in just 81 pitches, with four strikeouts.
First-inning doubles from junior catcher Kaiden Morin (1-for-2, walk) and junior shortstop Logan Littlefield (1-for-3, RBI) were the only hits Wildman allowed — he faced the minimum from the third inning onwards, aided by a sixth-inning assist from sophomore catcher Rogan Lord.
“It just stings and it hurts. We had a real good ballclub, and Kaysen pitched his rear end off,” Hampden Academy head coach Jon Perry said. “We had our hands full today. Brewer’s a different team with [Vanidestine] on the mound. There’s no guarantees in the playoffs.”
Hampden came painfully close to tying the game with two outs in the seventh, after Vanidestine was yanked due to pitch count limitations.
Against junior closer Zach Arnold, the top of Hampden’s order drew a four-pitch walk and then hit a grounder to short, which Littlefield misplayed. Hampden senior Collin Peckham then sent another well-hit grounder to short, but Littlefield redeemed himself and flipped the ball to second for the final out.
“Our hearts were racing, but we came through,” Arnold said. “[Logan] bounced right back. We came in here more together than ever.”
Brewer head coach Dana Corey echoed Arnold’s sentiments.
“You could tell when they got on the bus today that they were all in and ready to go,” Corey said. “You gotta trust your players.”
Next up, Brewer will face the winner of No. 4 Bangor and No. 5 Oxford Hills away on Saturday. The Witches beat Oxford Hills on opening day, and split the season series versus rival Bangor, beating the Rams 4-1 in a must-win scenario last week.
