Time for some prognostications for the high school baseball season that gets under way in earnest next week.

In at least one respect, baseball is much harder to forecast than basketball or football. The weather always wreaks particular havoc on spring sports, but in this year of record-setting snow, many fields north of Bangor remain unplayable, leaving those teams still trying to get ready for the season in gyms or parking lots.

So if these picks for Eastern Maine champions don’t work out come mid-June, don’t blame me, blame Mother Nature.

Class A: Don’t be surprised if Bangor and Brewer meet in an Eastern Maine final rematch, after Bangor defeated its cross-river rival 4-0 last spring to win its second straight title.

While Mount Ararat of Topsham and Oxford Hills of South Paris should contend from the southern reaches of Eastern Maine, both Bangor and Brewer have the talent and experience to return to the penultimate game of the season.

Bangor suffered the heavier graduation losses, but still retains the 1-2 pitching punch of Ian Edwards and Jordan Clarke along with standout third baseman Shane Walton and outfielder Kyle Vanidestine to lead a program that has gone 37-3 the last two seasons.

Brewer boasts a deep staff of its own led by Greg Higgins and Eric White and is seeking to boost its offense this spring in an effort to dethrone the Rams.

The pick: Bangor.

Class B: John Bapst of Bangor returns a strong lineup capable of challenging Bucksport for Penobscot Valley Conference bragging rights.

Old Town, making the move from Class A, also may make some noise, as could Caribou – if the Vikings ever get the joy of playing at home in the aftermath of that city’s 198-inch snowfall this winter.

Then there’s the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, which boasts the defending Eastern Maine champion in Winslow, as well as several other teams that could contend, led by Class B newcomer Gardiner and University of Maine-bound standout Kyle Stilphen.

The pick: John Bapst.

Class C: No doubt there will be some noble challengers, like Houlton and Stearns of Millinocket.

But it’s hard to think the Eastern Maine champion in this division won’t be either Searsport or George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill. Those teams own the last six EM titles, with Searsport the two-time defending champion.

Searsport is led by senior righthander Nate Adams, who pitched a no-hitter against GSA in last year’s regional final, along with fellow veterans Casey Ashey and Tom Cameron.

But GSA, with Josh Astbury and Caleb Hale anchoring the pitching staff, has a boatload of returning talent in a bid to return to the state final for the first time since 2005.

The pick: George Stevens.

Class D: Deer Isle-Stonington has won two state titles in the last three years and returns a premier duo in senior Collin Ciomei and junior Eben Powers.

But plenty of teams will challenge the defending champs.

Katahdin of Stacyville, the last team to defeat the Mariners in postseason play during a 2006 quarterfinal, will rely on a talented junior class led by Andy Kay and Evan McCarthy. Ashland returns a strong nucleus from its Eastern Maine finalist team of a year ago, and Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook is a perennial contender.

Woodland should be a worthy challenger from the Downeast Athletic Conference, with many of its players riding the momentum of a strong basketball season.

The pick: Katahdin.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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