ELLSWORTH – Pat Kelley admits he was uncertain how the youthful Ellsworth High School baseball team would fare this season.

But having emerged with a 13-3 record after Wednesday’s 4-3, eight-inning victory over Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor, the junior pitcher-outfielder senses that the Eagles could be a formidable contender in a deep and balanced Eastern Maine Class B.

“We’ve played good baseball the last three or four weeks,” said Kelley, who scored the winning run against MDI on a passed ball. “We had a couple of tough losses along the way to Caribou and John Bapst, but they’re good teams just like MDI.

“But I think we’re playing well, and we’ve got some momentum going into the playoffs.”

This contest featured solid pitching and an intensity that epitomized not only the rivalry between these Hancock County teams, but also the importance of the game to both teams in terms of seeding for postseason play, which begins next week.

With the win, Ellsworth may be in line for a top-four seed, which would earn the Eagles an additional home game if they reach the regional quarterfinals.

At 7-9, MDI likely will play on the road in next Tuesday’s preliminary round.

MDI led 3-1 after Steve Zirnkilton singled off the glove of Ellsworth first baseman Greg Berry to drive home Danny Dunn – who had doubled – in the top of the sixth .

That was the first batter faced by Ellsworth reliever Seth Cote, and the last time the Trojans mounted a serious threat against the sophomore righthander.

Cote, recently moved up from the junior varsity, pitched three innings of three-hit, scoreless relief with six strikeouts and no walks to earn his first varsity victory.

“He was huge, clutch, whatever you want to say about him,” said Kelley.

Ellsworth crept within 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, as Brad Folmer hit a leadoff single to center and scored on one-out singles by Kelley and Berry.

But MDI averted further damage as shortstop Justin Gilmartin and second baseman Brett Mitchell combined to turn an 6-4-3 double play on a grounder by Andrew Hodge.

Ellsworth tied the game with an unearned run in the seventh, as Dillon Wilbur led off by beating out a slow grounder to shortstop for an infield hit and then reaching second on a throwing error.

Wilbur went to third on Garrett Kaspala’s comebacker to Stewart, then slid in safely under the throw home after a sacrifice fly by Ross Saunders.

Kelley singled to left-center with two out in the Ellsworth eighth, then stole second base. After Berry was intentionally walked, both runners advanced on a wild pitch, before Kelley scored on a passed ball.

“We got away with one today,” said Ellsworth coach Dana Smith, whose team stranded runners on third in both the fifth and sixth innings. “We didn’t play our best game today but found a way to win.”

Stewart took a tough-luck loss for MDI, scattering 10 hits while allowing just two earned runs with four strikeouts and just the one intentional walk.

“Sam threw first-pitch strikes,” said MDI coach Matt Haney of Stewart’s 85-pitch performance. “He got his breaking pitch over for strikes and kept the ball off the middle of the plate.”

Folmer, Kelley and Wilbur each had two singles for Ellsworth, while Zirnkilton had three singles and two RBIs for MDI and teammate Brett Mitchell singled twice.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

EAGLES 4, TROJANS 3, 8 INN.

MDI (7-9) Ellsworth (13-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Delaittre, cf 3 1 1 0 Folmer, ss 4 0

Gilmartin, ss 3 0 0 0 A. Kaspala, lf 3 0

Mitchell, 2b 3 0 2 1 Kelley, cf 4 1 0

Tweedie, 1b 4 0 0 0 Berry, 1b 3 0 1

Dunn, lf 3 2 1 0 Palmacci, pr 0 0 0

Stewart, p 3 0 1 0 Hodge, p-3b 3 0 0

Zirnkilton, 3b 4 0 3 2 Miller, pr 0 0

Young, dh 3 0 1 0 Wilbur, rf 3 2 0

Swanson, c 0 0 0 0 G. Kaspala, 2b 3 0 0

Burr, rf 4 0 0 0 Saunders, dh 3 0 1

Barkhouse, c 0 0 0 0

Lambert, pr 0 0 0 0

Maddocks, 3b 2 0 0 0

Cote, p 1 0 0 0

Totals 30 3 9 3 Totals 29 3 10 2

Mount Desert Island 000 111 00 – 3

Ellsworth 000 011 11 – 4

There were two outs when winning run scored.

E-Tweedie, Gilmartin; Hodge, Folmer; LOB-MDI 9, Ellsworth 4; 2B-Dunn; DP-MDI 2; S-Young; SF-Saunders; SB-Kelley 2, Wilbur, G. Kaspala

MDI IP H R ER BB SO

Stewart (L, 1-3) 7 2/3 10 4 2 1 4

Ellsworth IP H R ER BB SO

Hodge 5 6 3 1 3 3

Cote (W, 1-0) 3 3 0 0 0 6

Hodge pitched to two batters in 6th.

HBP-A. Kaspala (by Stewart); Gilmartin, Stewart (by Hodge); WP-Stewart; Hodge 2, Cote; PB-Swanson, Barkhouse 2; T-2:10; ATT-100 (est.)