BANGOR – Collin Henry flirted with trouble in the first inning of Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class C baseball final.

But once the George Stevens Academy junior lefthander escaped that bases-loaded situation, he was poised for a big performance.

The top-ranked Eagles scratched out a run in the bottom of the first, and Henry went on to pitch a three-hit shutout as the Blue Hill-based team edged No. 3 Searsport 1-0 at Mansfield Stadium to win its fourth consecutive regional title.

George Stevens (15-4) will try to win its third straight state championship here Saturday against 16-1 St. Dominic of Auburn, which defeated Telstar of Bethel 10-0 in six innings to win the Western C crown. The game will be a rematch of the 2004 final, which GSA won 12-2.

Henry yielded two walks, an infield hit, and a wild pitch in the top of the first, but stranded three baserunners with an inning-ending strikeout.

He allowed only two more runners to reach second base the rest of the way as GSA avenged two regular-season losses to Searsport and defeated the Vikings in the EM final by one run for the second straight year.

“I knew I had to shut the door on them right there, because they got the early lead the other two times we played them,” Henry said. “Once I did that, I was fired up, and in the next inning I was starting to hit my spots better and working the off-speed stuff. As the game went on I knew I was on and I was going to be tough to beat.”

Henry finished with 14 strikeouts, three walks, and two hit batters in a 121-pitch performance and needed to be at his best to outduel Searsport junior Matt Nickerson, who also pitched a three-hitter.

“[Collin] had good command of three pitches,” said GSA coach Dan Kane. “He threw the fastball by some of their hitters, he threw the curveball for strikes, but he got some big outs on changeups. That’s the key, if you can throw three pitches for strikes on a given day, you’re going to be hard to beat.”

The only run separating Henry from Nickerson on this evening might best be described as Blake Wessel’s Perilous Baserunning Adventure.

The junior shortstop hit Nickerson’s first pitch of the game into left field for a single. Phineas Peake then lined out to second base, and Wessel was caught between first and second – only to have the throw that would have doubled him off hit him in the back, enabling him to return to first.

Wessel stole second, then slipped after rounding third base when Henry singled to right. The ball came back into the infield as Wessel scrambled to his feet, but he was able to get back to third before a throw was made. Henry moved up to second.

Wessel then scored the game’s lone run on a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Lucas Marks on which first baseman Sean Johnson made a tough catch in foul territory in shallow right field.

“It was probably one of the most stressful trips around the bases I’ve ever had,” said Wessel.

Nickerson allowed just one more GSA baserunner to advance as far as second base while finishing off a 73-pitch performance. The righthander struck out seven, walked one, and hit a batter.

“Matt was unbelievable coming off three days’ rest,” said Searsport coach David Pepin. “I knew he’d be ready, and that’s probably the best game he’s pitched all year. If we had turned that double play in the first inning on that line drive, we’d probably still be playing.”

Searsport (15-2) also was playing with a collective heavy heart because Michael Johnson, Sean Johnson’s father, died in a pickup truck accident in Stockton Springs on Sunday.

“These kids were very high after our [2-1 semifinal win against Dexter] Saturday, but our first baseman’s dad died in a car accident Sunday,” Pepin said.

“Since then it’s been a couple of days of no practice and just trying to get our team back together, and they rebounded well. I’m proud of my kids.”

EAGLES 1, VIKINGS 0

Searsport (15-2) George Stevens (15-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Cal. Ashey, 2b 2 0 0 0 Wessel, ss 3 0

Shute, ss 2 0 1 0 Peake, cf 3 0 0

M. Nickerson, p 3 0 0 0 Henry, p 2 0

J. Nickerson, 3b 3 0 1 0 Bridges, pr 0 0

Adams, cf 2 0 1 0 Marks, c 2 0 1

T. McHatten, rf 2 0 0 0 Gallagher, 1b 3 0

Johnson, 1b 3 0 0 0 Gale, lf 2 0 0

Burke, lf 2 0 0 0 Hilts, dh 1 0 0

Cas. Ashey, c 3 0 0 0 Allen, rf 0 0

Larry, 2b 2 0 0 0

Hale, pr 0 0 0 0

Astbury, 3b 1 0 0 0

Totals 22 0 3 0 Totals 19 1 3 1

Searsport 000 000 0 – 0

George Stevens Academy 100 000 x – 1

E-Johnson; LOB-Searsport 6, GSA 4; S-Hilts; SF-Marks; SB-Shute; Wessel

Searsport IP H R ER BB SO

M. Nickerson (L, 6-1) 6 3 1 1 1 6

George Stevens IP H R ER BB SO

Henry (W, 7-1) 7 3 0 0 3 14

HBP-T. McHatten (by Henry), Burke (by Henry); Astbury (by M. Nickerson); WP-Henry 2; T-1:45; ATT-500