TOPSHAM — No matter how many one-run games the Mt. Ararat baseball team plays this year, the Eagles’ heart rates will still race during a close seventh inning.
A 5-4 win over Oxford Hills in a Class A North semifinal Saturday was no different.
The fifth-seeded Vikings (11-7) had already scored one run in the top of the seventh when Jacoby Turcotte came to the plate with the bases loaded. The sophomore second baseman, who had three hits on Saturday, sent a fly ball to deep center field, but senior Luke McLaughlin was able to get under it for the final out.
“I was stressing,” Mt. Ararat starting pitcher Eligh Imrie said. “But we made it out, we always do.”
It was No. 1 Mt. Ararat’s third win this season over Oxford Hills, and the Eagles’ fourth-straight game decided by one run. They advance to play No. 3 Bangor (13-5) in the regional final at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Morton Field in Augusta.
The Eagles, who beat Bangor 4-0 on May 26, are headed to their first regional final since 2017.
“They are No. 1 for a reason,” Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer said. “They find ways to win.”
Senior third baseman Cam Pulkkinen (1 for 4, stolen base) drove in a run in the first and third innings to give the Vikings an early lead, and the off-speed of pitches from junior Colton Jendrick (3 2/3 innings, eight hits, two walkouts, two strikeouts) kept Mt. Ararat quiet until the Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
“The second and third time through (the batting order) was very helpful,” sophomore third baseman Will Davis said.
Second baseman Caiden Chase (1 for 2) hit a sacrifice fly to get the Eagles on the board. Davis (2 for 4) put Mt. Ararat on top with a two-out, two-run double, then scored later in the inning.
Pinch hitter Tyler Thibeault drove in an insurance run in the fifth. Jacoby Boyce hit an RBI double for Oxford Hills in the sixth.
Imrie pitched six innings for Mt. Ararat, striking out five, walking three and allowing seven hits. Andrew Clemons recorded the save.
“It’s all about getting that first run,” Imrie said. “And obviously today, getting the first run really got us going. Even with two outs, we got going really quick. We got just enough runs, again.”
