BANGOR – Waterville High School 17-year baseball coach Dick Whitten couldn’t have scripted a better 200th career win Wednesday at Mansfield Stadium.

His top-seeded Purple Panthers scored eight runs in the first three innings of their 9-3 Eastern Maine Class A championship game win over second seed Skowhegan, meaning he could pull ace righthander Josh Dubay after three innings and use him again in Saturday’s 4 p.m. State Class A championship game against Western champ Deering of Portland at Mansfield Stadium.

Had Dubay thrown just one pitch in the fourth, he wouldn’t have been eligible to pitch.

“With the exception of my wife and kids, this is the best,” grinned the 41-year-old Whitten, who believes this to be Waterville’s first EM title in baseball since 1939.

“We wanted to jump out early. They have a lot of good relievers and we didn’t want to let them decide it,” said former University of Maine DH-outfielder hitter Whitten, whose roster includes 12 seniors. “We’ve been a very decent hitting team all season.”

The Purple Panthers, now 15-0, wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as they reached Skowhegan ace righty Peter Kirby for three first-inning runs and two more in the second.

Chris Hart triggered the first-inning rally by pulling a one-out single to right. Kris Vigue walked and Corey Gardiner grounded a sharp single to center to score Hart.

Dubay walked and Jake Johansmeier ripped a two-run single to right center.

“He threw me a fastball over the outside part of the plate and I went with it,” said Johansmeier.

In the second, Tony Harmon drew a lead-off walk and Brooks Paradis, Whitten’s nephew, laid down a one-handed drag bunt single.

“My uncle taught me how to do that,” smiled Paradis.

After a passed ball, Hart hit a sacrifice fly and Gardiner’s infield single into the shortstop hole wound up plating Paradis when the ball bounced off the foot of shortstop Sean Walker and rolled six feet to his right.

“They’re a good hitting team,” said Skowhegan coach Steve Mayo. “Peter’s curve wasn’t working well so they were sitting on his fastball. He just wasn’t himself today.”

Mayo replaced Kirby with Jeremiah Daigle at the outset of the third and Waterville reached him for three unearned runs.

Josh Cholewa hit a lead-off single and Kevin O’Heir reached on second baseman Matt Bolduc’s overthrow of first.

One out later, Paradis lined a two-run single into right center.

“He threw me a fastball down the middle and I turned on it,” said Paradis.

Vigue’s ground ball single over third baseman James York’s head delivered the final run of the inning.

Dubay pitched three innings of impressive two-hit, three-strikeout baseball before Johansmeier came on to go the next three and pick up the win.

“I just tried to throw strikes and let the fielder’s do the work,” said Johansmeier.

Skowhegan, which ended 12-3, reached him for three runs in the sixth on back-to-back triples by York and Walker, Bryan Nelson’s RBI double and a wild pitch.

But he pitched his way out of the jam and senior Vigue, pitching in a school-related game for the first time since eighth grade, worked out of a two-on, no-outs jam in relief of Dale Poulin in the seventh.

Paradis had three hits and two RBIs to pace Waterville’s 12-hit attack. Johansmeier had two singles and three RBIs and Gardiner had two singles and an RBI.

York had a triple and a single and threw three innings of strong one-run relief. Walker tripled and singled and had an RBI and Nelson doubled and singled and drove in a run.

Purple Panthers 9, Indians 3

Skowhegan (12-3) Waterville (15-0)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R BI

Bedard, cf 3 0 0 0 Paradis, rf 4 1 2

Je. York, rf 3 0 0 0 Hart, 3b-ss 3 2 1

Ja. York, 3b-p 3 1 2 0 Vigue, ss-p 3 1

S. Walker, ss 4 1 2 1 Gardiner, lf 4 1

Nelson, dh 4 1 2 1 Dubay, p-1b 2 0 0

Kirby, p 0 0 0 0 Johansmeier, 1b-p 3

Daigle, p 0 0 0 0 Poulin, p 0 0 0

Perrault, lf 2 0 0 0 Cholewa, c 4 1 0

b-Ramsdell 1 0 0 0 O’Heir, 2b 3 1 0

Dunlap, c 2 0 1 0 Harmon, cf 2 1 0

c-Libby 0 0 0 0 Lockard, 3b 0 0

Bolduc, 2b 2 0 0 0

Mitchell, 2b 0 0 0 0

d-Hamilton 1 0 0 0

Preble, 1b 1 0 0 0

a-J. Walker 0 0 0 0

Dionne, 1b 1 0 0 0

Totals 27 3 7 2 Totals 29 9 12 8

a-walked for Preble in the fifth; b-grounded out for Perrault in the sixth; c-walked for Dunlap in the sixth; d-reached on an error for Bolduc in the sixth

Skowhegan 000 003 0 ? 3

Waterville 323 001 x ? 9

E?S. Walker, Bolduc; Hart; LOB?Skowhegan 8, Waterville 7; 2B?Nelson; 3B?Ja. York, S. Walker; DP?Lockard-O’Heir, Vigue (unassisted); SF?Hart

Skowhegan IP H R ER BB SO

Kirby (L,6-2) 2 6 5 5 3 4

Daigle 1 3 3 0 0 1

Ja. York 3 3 1 1 1 2

Waterville IP H R ER BB SO

Dubay 3 2 0 0 0 3

Johansmeier (W,6-0) 3 5 3 3 2 1

Poulin 0 0 0 0 2 0

Vigue 1 0 0 0 0 1

HBP?Bedard by Johansmeier; WP?Johansmeier, Ja. York 2; BK?Daigle; PB?Dunlap; T?2:08; ATT?250 (est.)