A year ago, the possibility of having an American Legion baseball team based in the Milo area seemed remote at best.

But thanks to the work of Rob St. Louis and some dedicated baseball fans, the Penquis Navigators are not only a reality, they’re the biggest story of the Zone 1 season after battling down to the final day just to sneak into the Zone 1 tournament and then finish as runner-up to Bangor and gain the program’s first-ever trip to the state tourney.

“I believe since the Penquis team was established eight years ago, this is our first tournament appearance, even when we used to be Sangerville,” said St. Louis. “We got going in our second game and that turned things around. We made some plays and got some confidence. We put 19 innings of great baseball together.”

All that despite a fifth-place seeding in a six-team tourney field, games against top seeds Bangor and Brewer, and a depth problem that left the Navigators with the bare minimum of players (nine) necessary to avoid forfeiting a game or incurring automatic outs.

“We’re hoping we can get three or four more back on our roster with one being injured and a couple more on family vacations,” said St. Louis, who expects to have 12 players available – including injured starter Josh Watson back for the weekend games.

Tournament action begins at 10 a.m. Saturday in Augusta as Morton Field and McGuire Field will be the sites of the 2002 Legion state tournament. Games will be played at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday as the eight-team field gradually shrinks to one over a five-day period.

The 13-14 Navigators will take on Zone 2 champion Monmouth at noon and fellow Zone 1 team Bangor (19-7) will play Zone 2 runner-up Augusta at 2 p.m.

Penquis qualified for states with an improbable comeback win over prohibitive favorite Brewer, thanks to an eight-run inning.

“That team is competitive. They did a great job moving guys around and their pitchers did a good job keeping them in games,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “What they did well in this tournament was play well defensively. That made the difference, I think.”

AUGUSTA POST 205

Coach: Al Cloutier, 15th year

Record, seeding: Zone 2 runnerup

Top hitters: unavailable

Top pitchers: unavailable

Outlook: An annual state tournament participant, Augusta is making its 13th appearance in the last 15 years, and this is only the second time Augusta comes into state tourney play as anything other than Zone 2 champion.

BANGOR COMRADES

Coach: Jay Kemble, 1st year

Record, seeding: 19-7, Zone 1 champion

Top hitters: 3B Andy Tremble (.433, 1 HR, 14 RBIs, 12 SB), 2B Nate Hall (.373, 12 RBIs, 8 SB), 1B Zev Myerowitz (.340, 2 HR, 21 RBIs), OF Andy Treadwell (.315, 1 HR, 18 RBIs), OF Kevin Proctor (.297, 11 RBIs, 10 SB), OF -DH Andy Sullivan (..286, 13 RBIs)

Top pitchers: RHP Josh Heath (5-1, 2.15 ERA, 29 1/3 inn., 28 K), RHP Billy Chapman (5-2, 1.95 ERA, 32 1/3 inn., 32 K), RHP Josh Young (4-2, 1.38 ERA, 30 1/3 inn., 36 K)

Outlook: The Comrades don’t have any power hitters who will have opposing outfielders playing the warning track, but Bangor features very solid pitching, good defense, and a well-balanced lineup with plenty of contact hitters who can spoil good pitches. The Comrades also have a knack for timely hitting. Most of Bangor’s losses can be traced to defensive letdowns, so staying away from errors is key. The three-time defending Zone 1 champions were dispatched in two games after being shocked by a New Auburn comeback last year, and that experience should make for a more mature approach this time around.

COASTAL ATHLETICS

Coach: Chris Gillespie, year

Record, seeding: 21-6, Zone 4 runnerup

Top hitters: P-IF Greg Norton (.453, 6 HR, 45 RBIs), 1B Joe Henrikson (.412, 5 HR, 24 RBIs), LF Nate Leeman (.403, 4 HR, 18 RBIs), SS Jeff Ghiloni (.371, 12 RBIs), C Matt Rutherford (.363, 6 HR, 40 RBIs),

Top pitchers: RHP Greg Norton (5-0, 0.72 ERA, 39 inn., 57 K), LHP Charlie Furbush (4-2, 1.91 ERA, 33 inn., 24 K), RHP Pat Mileski (3-1, 2.55 ERA, 22 inn., 25 K), RHP Mike Emmonds (2-0, 2.50 ERA, 28 inn., 22 K)

Outlook: Coastal shapes up as one of the top teams in the tourney field with solid hitters all over the lineup, two of the best pitchers in the tourney with Norton and Furbush, and a very deep staff which can trot out 10 different arms, five of whom have thrown 14 innings or more this season. Defense is strong up the middle and the lineup is veteran-laden. About the only thing this team doesn’t do well is run the bases, which can come back to haunt it.

COLE FARMS

Coach: Mark Burns, 1st year

Record, seeding: 15-9, Zone 3 champion

Top hitters: C Jordan Yanni (.375, 5 HR, 20 RBIs), 2B Nathan Burns (.370, 2 HR), P-SS Erik Morrison (.300, 8 SB), P-LF Ryan Rand (.285, 4HR, 18 RBIs), CF Shane Corcoran (.280, 3 HR)

Top pitchers: RHP Erik Morrison (6-2), RHP Sam Tupper (5-0), RHP Ryan Rand (4-2), RHP Jesse Huff (1-1, 3 saves)

Outlook: The biggest surprise of Zone 3 wasn’t even a team last year. Burns got together with Yarmouth baseball coach Peter Blake and opted to field a team in the Gray-New Gloucester area. After struggling in the first half of the season, Cole has won nine of its last 10 games and went 3-0 in the zone tourney. Depth could be a problem as Burns has only 11 or 12 players to count on, but versatility is not as the team has had to plug various people into new spots to ease the depth crunch. Defense and pitching are strengths, but the onus is on the starters to throw a lot of quality innings as there isn’t much depth beyond the top four. The lineup features a couple of power threats, so this team’s surprising season may continue to surprise some people.

MONMOUTH

Coach: Chad Drouin, 1st year

Record, seeding: 20-4, Zone 2 champion

Top hitters: unavailable

Top pitchers: unavailable

Outlook: The Zone 2 champs have gained a lot of tourney experience the last two seasons and shape up as one of the most talented rosters in the state tourney field. Pitching is a definite strength and the batting order is productive. Defense hasn’t been a particular weakness and Monmouth also brings experienced players into the fold. This team shapes up as a top contender.

NEW AUBURN

Coach: Brian Flynn, 1st year

Record, seeding: 19-5, Zone 3 runnerup

Top hitters: P-OF-2B Rory Flynn (.417, 5 HR, 34 RBIs, 11 SB), SS Nick Lawler (.380, 4 HR, 30 RBIs), P-OF-1B Jay Verrill (.369, 6 RBIs, 9 SB), P-OF-3B Joey Dumont (.348, 3 HR, 25 RBIs), 2B Luke Robinson (.328, 4 RBIs, 5 SB), 1B Craig Cormier (.311, 13 RBIs)

Top pitchers: RHP Joey Dumont (6-0, 0.88 ERA, 32 inn., 33 K), RHP Rory Flynn (6-2, 1.24 ERA, 45 inn., 26 K), RHP Todd Gamache (3-1, 2.78 ERA, 27 2/3 inn., 22 K), RHP Jamie Martel (3-0, 1 save, 22 1/3 inn., 15 K)

Outlook: Run production hasn’t been a problem for New Auburn as the team is averaging 7.9 runs per game. Another strength is versatility and talent at the top of the rotation and lineup. Like Bangor, almost all of New Auburn’s losses this season are attributable to fielding errors. The prolific offensive game usually affords this team the luxury of a few miscues, but errors have a way of killing teams in this tournament. Neither of the Zone 3 teams have played any nine-inning games this season, so the switch to American League-only rules could make it tough, although Flynn thinks it will work to his team’s advantage as he has solid starters who eat a lot of innings.

NOVA SEAFOOD

Coach: Mike D’Andrea, 6th year

Record, seeding: 23-2, Zone 4 champion

Top hitters: SS Ryan Flaherty (.420, 3 HR, 15 RBIs), C Andrew Giobbi (.392, 2 HR, 24 RBIs), CF Donnie Drake (.370, 2 HR, 5 triples, 13 RBIs, 7 SB), 1B-RP Scott Brown (.340, 5 HR, 21 RBIs), RF Ryan Reid (.333, 5 HR, 23 RBIs)

Top pitchers: RHP Mike Powers (7-0, 41 K, 48 inn., 41 K), RHP Ryan Reid (7-0, 51 inn., 51 K), RHP Nick Giobbi (6-0, 41 inn., 32 K), Jeff Skillin (5-0, 34 inn., 18 K), Scott Brown (4 saves)

Outlook: If you’re looking for chinks in the armor of this annual contender, about the only thing you can consider a weakness on this team is youth and lack of state tournament experience. But even that is misleading as most, if not all, of these players have logged plenty of innings in state tournament competition at other levels (Little League, Senior League, etc.). The defending champs have one of the best lineups and deepest starting rotations in the tourney as they gun for their third state crown in four years.

PENQUIS NAVIGATORS

Coach: Rob St. Louis, 1st year

Record, seeding: 13-14, Zone 1 runnerup

Top hitters: P-SS Adam Russell (11-for-17 in Zone 1 tournament), P-2B James Gray, P-1B Seth Gabarro, 3b Ross Morrison, OF Bryan White

Top pitchers: Russell , RHP Darin Spack (1-3), RHP James Gray, RHP Seth Strout

Outlook: The Navigators lived up to their nickname as they successfully plied their way through the treacherous waters of the Zone 1 Tournament despite being heavy underdogs to both Bangor and Brewer. Penquis may be the most versatile team in the tourney field and certainly the biggest surprise as it had to play its last three games with nine players after losing one player to surgery and two others to family vacations. All three are expected to be back to buttress Penquis’ paper-thin depth chart.