Decision to move ‘A’ game proved correct

If the Milwaukee Brewers are right, Mark Rogers will be pitching in front of larger crowds some day – in the major leagues.

But for Maine high school baseball, Monday night’s Class A state championship game between Mount Ararat of Topsham and Deering of Portland was a watershed event.

Some 6,770 went through the turnstiles at Portland’s Hadlock Field to watch Deering High of Portland defeat Rogers and Mount Ararat 6-1, according to Maine Principals’ Association executive director Dick Durost on Tuesday.

“To me it just confirms that we had no option other than to move the game to that facility even if it meant pushing it back two days,” said Durost.

The game originally was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Gorham High School, but was switched to Monday evening at Hadlock in anticipation of a large crowd after 3,000 turned out to watch Rogers pitch in the Eastern Maine final at Bangor’s Mansfield Stadium last Tuesday.

Both head coaches in the state final, Mike D’Andrea of Deering and Craig Rogers of Mount Ararat, initially expressed displeasure when the game was moved, but no one could escape the reality of what transpired Monday night.

“How can anyone say that it’s not one of the best moments in high school baseball when you get to come down here in front of a packed house,” said Craig Rogers, Mark’s father. “These memories will last with these kids forever.”

“Everyone was mad when they changed the game,” added Deering third baseman Neil Esposito. “But playing at Hadlock Field in front of t his many people is something none of us will ever forget.”

Esposito had two hits and three RBIs as Deering further cemented its status as the state’s top baseball program by winning its second straight title and fifth championship in the last six years.

Rogers pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs – two earned – on four hits while striking out eight and walking two. When he left the mound to be relieved by Ethan Ogilby, the crowd responded with a standing ovation, then grew relatively quiet as the game played itself out.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Rogers, a senior righthander who was the 2004 Gatorade National High School Baseball Player of the Year as well as the No. 5 overall pick in the June 7 amateur draft by the Brewers.

“The whole team responded well to it, I thought. We were a bit shaky coming into it, but it’s completely different from playing at Mount Ararat High School. It was a blast, a time no one will forget, that’s for sure.”

Whether this game has any long-term impact on interest in Maine high school baseball remains to be seen, but for this moment in time, the sport has reached a new height – thanks to the son of a lobsterman from Orrs Island.

The flame-throwing Rogers finished his final season at Mount Ararat with the following numbers: a 9-1 overall record with 166 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings, along with 13 walks, 14 hits, and four earned runs allowed.

“I’m glad Maine’s finally getting excited about baseball more,” said Deering senior Ryan Reid, a James Madison University-bound righthander who pitched a five-hitter against Mount Ararat. “Credit Mark for that because of all he’s done so far.”