3 Teams battling for second slot

Old Town-Orono was the preseason favorite to win the Zone 1 American Legion baseball title. Second place was up for grabs.

That is exactly what has happened.

Dave Paul’s Twins are 15-3 and a shoo-in to qualify for the State American Legion Tournament.

The battle for the other state tourney spot is between 11-6 Brewer, 9-7 Ellsworth-Trenton and 10-8 Skowhegan. Skowhegan defeated Brewer 8-7 on Wednesday.

“Old Town-Orono deserves to be where it is,” said Skowhegan Coach Ken Reed. “They’ve proven themselves.”

“I think we’ve played up to our potential,” said Paul. “We’ve been pretty steady defensively and the pitching has been good. (Pitcher) Brian Wickett has certainly been a real pleasant surprise. At times, everybody up and down the lineup has hit. At other times, two or three guys have carried us.”

Old Town-Orono is hitting an impressive .347 as a team and is averaging 8.2 runs per game. The leading hitters have been Matt Eastman (.470, 13 runs batted in, team-leading 24 runs); Nick Chaisson (.415, 1 homer, 7 RBIs); Steve Coombs (.356, 2, 21), Jim Evans (.354, 1, 21) and Aaron Knowles (.340, 9 RBIs).

Ron Coombs, Steve’s brother, has hit .516 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 31 at-bats and Wickett has hit .407 in 27 at-bats.

Steve Coombs is the ace of a pitching staff which has compiled an impressive 2.79 ERA. Coombs is 5-1 with a 3.49 ERA. Mark Thibodeau (4-0, 1.73) and Wickett (2-0, 1 save, 0.82) join Coombs in the three-man rotation. Nate Ballard (1-0, 1.64) and Jason Clifford (2-0, 1.94) have also pitched well and the relief ace has been Gary Sibley (1-1, 4 saves, 1.98).

The Brewer Falcons have exceeded expectations, especially after getting off to a 1-4 start.

The Falcons surrendered 52 runs in their first five games but have allowed only 42 since in winning 10 of 12.

Coach Dave Gonyar said a trip to a tournament in Rhode Island played a pivotal role in the turnaround.

“There were some real good teams there,” explained Gonyar. “We got a look at all of our players and we established roles. The kids also got to know each other and that helped establish the team chemistry.”

Brewer’s pitching staff has featured Peter Kenny (4-0, 0.97), lefty Tim Hodgins (3-0, 2.85) and Ben Jenkins (2-1, 4.42). The team has an ERA of 3.38.

The offensive catalysts have been Mel Grant (.396, 3, 15), Sean Smith (.370, 11 RBIs), Dan Needham (.353, 8 RBIs), Hodgins (.333, 7 RBIs) and Brent Emerson (.309, 7 RBIs).

The Acadians have featured a potent lineup led by Eric Lanks, Mike Clark, Steve Linscott, Mark Leighton, Micah Richardson and Justin Harmon.

“Down the stretch, we’re going to need good pitching every time out,” said first-year coach Jack Merrill. “I think we’ll score some runs and our defense has been pretty consistent.”

Paul Farley (3-1, 2 saves) has had a very good summer and Merrill is hoping Jared Polchies, Richardson and Greg Marancik can provide quality starts.

Reed said his defending zone champion Log Drivers from Skowhegan “really have the cards stacked against us.

“We haven’t reached our potential in any area yet,” said Reed.

Ken Reed and Garrett Quinn have been the leading hitters and Jerrod Therbarge has seven homers. Quinn has been the pitching ace.