As the cleanup hitter for the American Legion Zone 1 baseball champion Brewer Falcons, Cam Wadleigh has a good feel for what is a good pitch to hit.

But it was his understanding of that concept from a difference perspective that was perhaps most important as he helped his team win its third consecutive zone title.

The catcher, who will be a senior at Bucksport High School in the fall, has been behind the plate for all five postseason games so far as Brewer rebounded from a 7-7 start this summer to win nine of its last 11 games – including a 4-1 mark in the double-elimination Zone 1 tournament.

“If there’s any people out there who want to take a look at a catcher, they should look at him, said Brewer coach David Morris, whose team opens play in the 2007 state American Legion tournament Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. start from Saint Joseph’s College in Standish against Zone 4 runner-up Fayette-Staples of Saco.

Pitching – and catching – proved to make the difference for Brewer, as the Falcons allowed just 19 runs in its five zone tournament games, all of which were at least nine-inning affairs and two that stretched into extra innings.

“Cam takes pride in his catching, and he called five absolutely great baseball games in this tournament,” said Morris. “I think I called one pitch all weekend and the kid hit a double, so I stayed right out of it.”

Early in the zone tournament Wadleigh handled Brewer’s most veteran pitchers, among them Greg Higgins, Jim Nicknair and reliever Chris Maguire.

But as the tournament continued, the Falcons had to test their pitching depth, with youngsters Eric White and Chase Daniels called upon to start in the championship round. Both White and Daniels, who are also scheduled to pitch for the Brewer entry in this year’s Senior League World Series beginning Aug. 12, pitched well in that Legion doubleheader against Bangor.

White worked 7 2/3 innings in Bangor’s 6-1 win that forced a winner-take-all game later in the day, and Daniels followed with a complete game performance as the Falcons defeated Bangor 6-3 to win the championship.

“I didn’t really have a game plan,” said Daniels. “It was up to my catcher, Cam, and he did a hell of a job.”

Wadleigh’s philosophy with Daniels, as it was with the older pitchers earlier in the tournament, was not to limit any pitcher’s repertoire merely because a certain pitch might not be working at the outset of the game.

“Me and coach Morris talked before the beginning of the tournament, about how important it was going to be to have each pitcher have every pitch that they could throw working for them,” said Wadleigh.

“I would make sure they would keep throwing every pitch until it worked for them, I would keep calling them. I also made sure not to be predictable, not even in the first inning starting guys out with a fastball. I didn’t do that. I’d mix it up with a curveball. whatever they thought we’d throw, I didn’t.”

Five-zone format looms

The expanding American Legion baseball landscape – with seven new teams this summer bringing the statewide total to a record 48 – is expected to result in a significant change in postseason play next year.

This year’s Zone 4, which encompasses York and Cumberland counties in the southern part of the state, fielded 17 teams, including three programs that made their debut this summer. Two of those three new Zone 4 teams, Wells-York and Marshwood-Traip, were based in York County.

As a result, Zone 4 was split into two divisions, one with nine teams from Cumberland County and the second with eight teams from York County.

Next year, plans call for those divisions to become separate zones with the addition of Zone 5 in York County.

How that will affect the format of the state tournament hasn’t yet been determined, according to Zone 1 commissioner David Paul, but several possible tournament scenarios are being mulled.

Currently the four-zone tournament involves a double-elimination format, which could remain the case next year, though officials also are considering other options such as the pool play.