Before Bangor High School baseball coach David Morris and wife, Dana, move down to their retirement home in St. Augustine, Florida, the Rams’ boss would love to have the opportunity to coach his Rams for two more games.
But that requires the 15-3 Rams to beat 17-1 Oxford Hills of South Paris in Tuesday’s Class A North championship game at 4:30 p.m. at Morton Field in Augusta.
The winner will face the victor of the South A final between top seed Gorham (17-1) and surprising No. 10 seed Noble of North Berwick (9-8-1) in Saturday’s state championship game.
In the other North regional finals on Tuesday, fourth seed Hermon (13-5) will face No. 2 Cony of Augusta (16-2) in the B game at Mahaney Diamond in Orono at 3 p.m., top seed Washington Academy of East Machias (17-1) will face No. 2 seed Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln (15-3) in the C game at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor at 7 p.m. and No. 1 Fort Fairfield (16-0) and No. 2 Bangor Christian (15-3) will square off in the D contest at Mahaney Diamond at 6:30 p.m.
The South title games on Tuesday involve 3 p.m. games between Cheverus and Noble at the University of Southern Maine and top B seed Fryeburg Academy (15-3) versus No.3 Greely of Cumberland Center (13-5) at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. Then there will be a pair of 6:30 p.m. games between Monmouth Academy (17-1) against second seed Maranacook of Readfield (16-2) at USM and No. 1 Richmond (16-1) vs. Telstar High of Bethel (15-3) at St. Joseph’s.
Greely and Monmouth Academy won state titles last season.
The regional softball championship games will also be played on Tuesday with 15-3 Lewiston, the second seed, taking on No. 5 Hampden Academy (12-6) in the A North final at the Central Maine Community College field in Auburn at 7 p.m.; Class B fourth seed Old Town (14-4) facing No. 2 Gardiner (15-3) at UMaine’s Pierre and Catherine Labat Softball Complex in Orono at 7 p.m.; top seed Bucksport (17-1) taking on sixth seed Central of Corinth (15-3) at Brewer’s Coffin Field at 7 p.m. in the C tilt; and D top two seeds Penobscot Valley of Howland and Katahdin of Stacyville, both 16-0, in the D game at UMaine at 3:30 p.m.
In the South, the 3:30 p.m. finals will pit top seed Dirigo of Dixfield (17-1) against No. 2 Monmouth Academy (16-2) at USM in C and No. 1 Buckfield (16–2) versus No. 2 North Yarmouth Academy (16-1) at St. Joseph’s in the D game. The 7 p.m. games will be No. 1 Cheverus and No. 2 Bonny Eagle of Buxton (15-3) in A and 17-1 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro (17-1) facing No. 3 Lake Region of Naples (14-4) at St. Joseph’s.
Medomak Valley, Bucksport and Buckfield are defending state champions.
Bangor’s Morris has guided his Rams to eight regional championship game appearances in nine years, and they have won four regional titles and two state titles.
He is retiring at the end of the season.
They dealt Oxford Hills its only loss, 10-5, in Bangor, but the Vikings made an uncharacteristic four errors and stranded 12 baserunners.
“It will be a tough game. They’re a very good team,” said Morris. “There are similarities between the two of us.”
Morris said the top five hitters in his lineup have been very productive and the top five hitters in Oxford Hills’ lineup “are as good as anyone’s. We expect a great challenge.”
The two teams combined to place nine players on the All-Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference A North teams with Bangor’s Gavin Glanville-True and Kyle Johnson on the first team and Jacoby Harvey and Matt Turcotte on the second team while Oxford Hills had first-teamers in Cam Pulkkinen and Gunner Truman and second team picks in Finley Cavers, Colton Jendrick and Carter Davis.
Oxford Hills Maine Baseball Hall-of-Fame coach Shane Slicer was chosen the coach of the year.
Johnson had been one of the aces of the starting rotation but has moved behind the plate to replace starting catcher Zac Cota, who was hit by a pitch against Brunswick and broke his jaw.
Turcotte and Lucas Rutherford have assumed the top-of-the-rotation roles and have pitched very well according to Morris,.
Johnson hit a big three-run homer to help beat Mt. Ararat of Topsham 5-2 in the semifinal. Bangor had shut out Mt. Blue of Farmington 5-0 in the quarterfinals behind lefty Turcotte’s one-hitter..
Oxford Hills beat Brunswick 13-3 and Hampden Academy 3-1 to reach the final.
Gavin Glanville-True is the leadoff hitter with Ethan Sproul, Harvey, Johnson and Owen Glanville-True occupying the other top five spots in the lineup.
The Glanville-True brothers went a combined 7-for-9 in the Oxford Hills game and scored five of the 10 runs.