Playoffs to feature local Class D teams

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Thursday is the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Maine Class D baseball and softball postseason.
    The Katahdin Cougars finished as the top-ranked Class D baseball team, followed by Central Aroostook, Wisdom, Southern Aroostook, Deer Isle-Stonington, Machias, Bangor Christian, Shead and Jonesport-Beals.
    The Cougars take an 11-3 record into their quarterfinal round matchup against the winner of Shead and Jonesport-Beals at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Since Katahdin has never played these two teams or played mutual opponents, coach Marty McCarthy took his players to watch Tuesday’s preliminary game.
    “The boys practiced at 6 o’clock this morning so we could do that,” McCarthy said in a phone interview Tuesday morning. “They are focused and ready to go.”
    Heading into the tournament, McCarthy noted that his team is “playing pretty well, right now” and they appear to be over their “little slump.”
    McCarthy said his players looked good over the last couple of games and with Brandon Robinson’s back muscle healed, “everyone is healthy and ready to go,” he said. “We are anxious.”
    Keys to winning their first-round game are pitching and of course, motivation.
    “I keep after my pitchers right steady. We need to keep them off the bases so they don’t score,” said McCarthy. “We know what we can do. We need to be ready to play and not become lackadaisical and think they are going to be easy.”
    The Cougars won their last Eastern Maine championship in 2008, when Mark “Mook” McGraw started as a freshman.
    “These kids were all on the team,” said McCarthy. “Mook was the only starter. They have been a close group. There is no complaining no matter what I asked them to do. They want to win this. This is the last year for seven of them.”
    The one thing that McCarthy has cautioned his players about is overconfidence.
    “You can look past an opponent,” he said. “That’s not a good thing. I think we have a tough draw. But, we are hoping.”
    If Katahdin wins its quarterfinal round, the next game will be against the winner of Southern Aroostook/Deer Isle-Stonington on Saturday.
    The No. 4 Southern Aroostook Warriors will host No. 5 Deer Isle-Stonington at 2 p.m. on Thursday in Dyer Brook.
    Southern Aroostook coach Murray Putnam noted that the school systems have been playing each other on the playoff scene for the last 20 years or so.
    “We have played their program, not necessarily the same kids, off and on for a whole lot of years,” Putnam said. “They have as a rule, some very solid youngsters and some who even play Legion ball. There are a number who play two and three sports. They are very competitive in everything. I expect it to be no different this year.”
    Putnam knows his squad has their hands full.
    “They play largely a Class C schedule,” Putnam added. “When you see schools such as Deer Isle, Bangor Christian, Machias or Shead hovering down around the middle of the pack or even sometimes lower, one should not be fooled.”
    For the Warriors to come away with a win, Putnam said the simplest thing is to score one more run. But, in reality there are components that players must attend to.
    “We’ve got to play solid defense behind our pitching,” he said. “We’ve got to hope we put the ball in play and let the chips fall where they may.”
    Putnam said he wasn’t under any illusion that this game has a foregone conclusion.
    “In the playoffs, you could run into an otherwise mediocre team, but on that given day, they have a youngster on the hill who can keep them competitive or give you fits offensively. All kinds of stuff can happen. We will have to wait and see.”
    The No. 4 Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors will play their first round in the Eastern Maine Class D Tournament against No. 5 Ashland on Thursday, as well, at 3 p.m. in Dyer Brook.
    Each team has beaten the other on their respective home fields. In their first game, Southern Aroostook defeated Ashland, 8-6 in Ashland, while the Hornets topped the Lady Warriors in their second game in Dyer Brook, 14-10.
    “It’s always a good matchup with them,” said Southern Aroostook coach Rob Betschner. “It doesn’t matter.”
    Betschner is proud of the way his players have responded through the season.
    “At the beginning of the season, we struggled,” he said of the 0-4 start. “To make the playoffs, I am happy with them. They didn’t give up.”
    The Lady Warriors lost seven seniors from last year’s team, including the pitching/catching battery.
    “Those are valuable positions,” Betschner said. “But, we are very versatile. We have players who can play different positions and do it well.”
    This year, Southern Aroostook only graduates three players, so Betschner appears to have a nucleus to build upon.
    “Nothing is for sure,” he said.
    Heading into their game against Ashland, the Lady Warriors’ offense “does a pretty good job,” Betschner said. “Now the defense is stepping up,” he added.
    Betschner said in some games his squad looked good, while in others they were not so good.
    “We need to stay focused,” he said. “Our defense will be the key to how far we go. We need to get out of those innings where we give up too many runs. You can’t give six, seven or more outs. We also need to eliminate walks.”
    Betschner has respect for his opposing coach, Terry Hunter.
    “He’s a very good coach,” he said. “We’ve played against each other quite a bit. They have improved a lot since they started too. They have a really good pitcher in Whitney Donovan and they have some good hitters.”
    Admittedly, this is going to be a difficult match for Southern Aroostook.
    “We always play each other well,” said Betschner. “But, I’m very proud for starting out the way we did to get to where we are now, is a great accomplishment. It shows what we can do if we work at it.”
    The No. 7 East Grand Lady Vikings have a tough row to hoe as they travel to face No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington on Thursday.
    “Our positioning is fine because that is what they earned,” said third-year coach Shaun Beaudoin of his squad. “As far as playing Deer Isle, we are going to have to play the number one or number two sometime. We might as well get it out of the way.”
    Beaudoin’s battery of daughters — catcher Shaunna Beaudoin and pitcher Kaitlyn Beaudoin — and veteran infield are keys to the quarterfinal outcome.
    “We need strong pitching and focus,” he said. “I don’t think she [Kaitlyn] feels any pressure. She can’t wait.”
    The concern heading into the contest is East Grand’s hitting consistentcy.
    “It has been coming back for the last few games,” Beaudoin said. “They’ve been coming back to life.”
    Beaudoin expected his team to be back in the playoff hunt this season, but he would have also liked more “Ws.”
    “I would have liked to have won a few more games that’s all,” he said. “As would any coach. But we are still a young team. We don’t lose anyone. We have one junior and the rest are sophomores, freshmen and eighth-graders.”