Oxford Hills captures title

BANGOR – Oxford Hills High School’s Vikings gave outgoing 17-year head coach Mike Loveless a going-away present Friday night: an Eastern Maine Class A baseball championship and another game to coach.

That will be Saturday’s noon state Class A title game against Sanford at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.

Senior righthander Tyler Cummings fired a seven-hit complete game and senior second baseman Jeff Austin threw out pinch runner Troy Pierce at the plate for the game’s final out as Oxford Hills of South Paris beat Cony High of Augusta 5-4 at Mansfield Stadium.

Oxford Hills is 17-3 and Cony finished 17-3.

Pierce was running for Sean Brawn, who lined a two-out double to left. Andy Smith hit a liner up the middle that was slowed up by the mound, which helped Austin get to it behind the second base bag and throw out Pierce.

“I was definitely surprised he was going,” said Austin. “I set myself and threw it as hard as I could.”

Smith said, “Their second baseman is quick and very talented. I knew he was going to get to the ball. I was hoping [head coach and third base coach Al Cloutier] was going to hold him at third but, if I was coach, I would have sent him, too. We needed to make things happen.”

Cloutier said Austin “made a great throw.”

Oxford Hills jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Cony tied it in the bottom of the third on two-out, two-run ground ball singles up the middle by Matt Pare and Ray Vallee.

Oxford Hills scored the game-winning run in the fifth.

Tyler Bryant lined the third of his four singles to left and was credited with a steal of second when first baseman Pare dropped freshman lefty Chris Tupper’s pickoff throw.

“Coach [Loveless] told us to go on his first move and I thought I had a real good jump,” said Bryant.

One out later, Alan Batchelder lined a 2-2 pitch to right center to deliver Bryant.

“He threw me a fastball outside and I went the other way with it,” said Batchelder.

Tupper, who explained that he pulled a shoulder muscle earlier in the day, said “I tried to throw my runner outside but he got a hold of it. ”

That was the only run the youngster yielded in three innings of relief.