Stilphen, Chadwick power Gardiner to 1st title since ’47

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BANGOR – The Gardiner baseball team entered this season with high hopes.

But even the Tigers couldn’t predict the extent of their dominance over the rest of Eastern Maine Class B.

Sure, three regular-season losses suggested some vulnerability, but so far Gardiner’s postseason play has revealed a team that cannot be defeated.

Old Town faced that fact at Mansfield Stadium on Wednesday night, as sophomore righthander Forrest Chadwick pitched a one-hitter and Kyle Stilphen belted a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth to end the regional final early as No. 2 Gardiner topped the fourth-ranked Coyotes 13-0.

“We’ve been talking the last couple of weeks that we want to focus on finishing what we’ve started here,” said Gardiner coach Jim Palmer, whose Tigers outscored their three playoff foes by a combined 30-4. “In the last two weeks I’ve put it in the players’ hands and the seniors have really taken some leadership in this. They want to take this all the way.”

All the way for Gardiner (16-3) means a return trip to Bangor on Saturday for its first appearance in a state final since 1947. The Tigers play Cape Elizabeth, a 9-2 winner over Lincoln Academy in Wednesday’s Western B final.

Old Town finishes with a 13-7 record.

Chadwick (5-1) allowed a ground single to left by Evan Paradis with two outs in the top of the first, then retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced to earn his second postseason victory. He finished with nine strikeouts and two walks while throwing 74 pitches.

“He always throws strikes,” said Stilphen, a senior shortstop. “He usually has a better curveball, but he was a little amped up today and throwing harder and it worked out well for him.”

Chadwick was backed by an errorless defense and a balanced offense that pounded out 11 hits off three Old Town pitchers.

“That’s probably the best hitting team we’ve seen in two years going back to Class A,” said Old Town coach Dave Utterback, “and better than anything we’ve seen this year. Even the outs they made were loud outs.”

While Stilphen doubled home a run in the second inning and capped off a six-run rally in the fifth with his fourth home run of the spring, the Tigers also got considerable production elsewhere in their batting order.

Nick Maschino, Donnie Cray, Chris Howe and Mike LaVallee, the Nos. 6-9 batters in the lineup, combined to go 7-for-11 with 10 runs scored and three RBIs.

Maschino doubled and singled, while Howe and LaVallee each singled twice to highlight that output.

“That’s not normally how our offense goes, but we try to turn the lineup over as many times as we can,” Palmer said. “We talk about having the seven, eight and nine hitters get us back to the top, and that’s what they did today.”

Howe’s two-run pop single down the left-field line and Stilphen’s double highlighted a five-run second-inning rally against Old Town starter Cory Wasson.

The Tigers added two runs in the fourth on a two-out, two-run double by Roland Kennerson.

Maschino led off the Gardiner fifth with a double to left and scored on the first of two straight infield errors.

LaVallee then was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Mike Abbott hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to extend Gardiner’s lead to 9-0.

Chadwick drew a walk to re-load the bases, bringing up Stilphen, the 2008 Gatorade player of the year and a Mr. Baseball finalist who will join the University of Maine baseball program in the fall.

Stilphen worked Old Town reliever Ethan Shanley to a 1-1 count, then launched a long blast well beyond the left-field fence to end the game under the 10-run rule.

“He threw one that I could drive and I just hit it,” said Stilphen. “It jumped off the bat and felt great. It’s a good way to end the game and give us a little momentum heading into the next game.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

TIGERS 13, COYOTES 0

Old Town (13-7) Gardiner (16-3)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Cates, lf 2 0 0 0 Abbott, 3b 2 0 2

Smith, 2b 2 0 0 0 Chadwick, p 3 1 0

Paradis, ss 1 0 1 0 Stilphen, ss 3 1 5

Leland, c 2 0 0 0 Kennerson, lf 3 0 2

Ziegenbein, cf 2 0 0 0 Wheelock, c 2 0

Estes, dh 1 0 0 0 Maschino, 1b 3 2 0

Getchell, 1b 2 0 0 0 Cray, cf 3 2 1

Demmons, rf 2 0 0 0 Howe, 2b 3 3 2

Coffin, 3b 2 0 0 0 LaVallee, rf 2 3 0

Totals 16 0 1 0 Totals 24 13 11 12

Old Town 000 00 – 0

Gardiner 050 26 – 13

E-Paradis 3; LOB-Old Town 3, Gardiner 4; 2B-Stilphen, Kennerson, Maschino, Cray; HR-Stilphen; SF-Abbott 2; SB-Paradis 2, Estes

Old Town IP H R ER BB SO

Wasson (L, 4-2) 1 2/3 5 5 3 1 1

Standley 2 1/3 5 6 2 1 2

Shanley 1/3 1 2 0 1 0

Gardiner IP H R ER BB SO

Chadwick (W, 5-1) 5 1 0 0 2 9

HBP-LaVallee (by Standley); T-1:35; ATT-750 (est.)