Two reasons high school baseball getting better

We have two reasons to be excited about the future of Maine high school baseball, both of which were very much in evidence in Tuesday’s Eastern Maine Class C final between George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill and Piscataquis Community of Guilford:

1. All of that experience soaked up by University of Maine baseball players under John Winkin in the 1980s is now paying dividends for our current schoolboys, who have seen former Black Bears filter into the coaching ranks in recent years.

2. The new playoff format imposed this year by the Maine Principals Association, which prevents a team from using one pitcher all the way through the postseason or until his arm seizes up, works just as intended. It means the best team and not just the best pitcher is apt to win.

Let’s start with the UMaine coaching connection.

George Stevens, which nipped Piscataquis 6-3 while dodging showers at Mansfield Stadium, is coached by Dan Kane. You probably remember Kane as a slugging outfielder and designated hitter for the Black Bears from 1984-87. He played in two College World Series.

Meanwhile, filling out the lineup card and running the show in the other dugout Tuesday was PCHS coach Kevin Jordan, UM Class of ’84. Jordan was a relief pitcher on two Black Bear College World Series entrants. A self-described “fringe player” for Maine, Jordan nonetheless absorbed much from the bench while traveling from Florida to Omaha and points in between.

Two former Maine schoolboy stars – Kane at Ellsworth High and Jordan at Leavitt. Two former UM players. Now, two head coaches of Maine high school teams giving something back to the game.

How to assess the impact of this? It wasn’t difficult Tuesday.

Start with George Stevens coming in rated No. 1 with a 16-2 record and PCHS coming in No. 2, also at 16-2.

Then there was the game itself, a taut, well-played affair that featured one – count ’em, one – error between the two teams. There were bunts, steals, a 5-4-3 double play, the kind of execution that, trust me, you don’t often see at the Class C level.

“I’m proud of those two guys after watching that game,” said Winkin, who eyeballed his two former players and their proteges from the top row of the grandstand. “That’s one of the reasons I came here, to see them coach. You can see these teams know the game. They mirror their coaches.”

Perhaps George Stevens pitcher Scott Murphy, after toiling through 131 pitches to pick up his seventh win against one loss, best summed up the effect of having a coach like Kane or Jordan.

“It’s good to have him in a big game like this because you know he’s been there before himself in the College World Series,” said Murphy, a junior righthander.

Lest you think this UMaine thing is just a Kane-Jordan affair, former Black Bear infielder Bobby Anthoine will lead Greely High into Wednesday’s Western Maine Class B title game.

Switch now to the MPA and its decision to schedule the postseason in a staggered manner – Classes A and C playing Thursday-Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, and Classes B and D playing Thursday-Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday.

Because there is a rule that a pitcher who works more than three innings must have three full days of rest before his next appearance, the format effectively means a team cannot use one pitcher for more than three innings in more than two consecutive playoff games (OK, unless there’s a rainout).

“I think it’s a great format,” said Jordan. “It forces you to use depth. We’ve got three pitchers and they are all about the same. That’s the way it should be. You should develop depth.”

Kane, who announced Richard Lebel will start Saturday’s state game for GSA, even though Murphy is eligible under the rule, echoed Jordan’s sentiment.

“Earlier in my coaching career, other teams would throw one pitcher all the time. It was tough to beat them when you always faced the ace. This format is a truer test of who has the best team. That’s what you’re trying to determine,” said Kane, whose Eagles are one win away from determining just that.