They flipped the coin twice to determine the top seed in the Western Class C baseball tournament. The first time it was to decide who would call the next flip for first place.

Defending state champion Dirigo (14-2) lost the first flip and won the second, the one that counted, so the Cougars will be No. 1 for the second straight year. And, like last year, St. Dom’s (14-2) is the second seed.

Both teams’ coaches say they are happy with how it worked out. Some other teams are just happy to make the playoffs, which begin Tuesday with the preliminary round and continue with Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Dirigo is glad to know that one of the two teams it lost to, St. Dom’s and Winthrop, presumably will have eliminated the other before either encounters the Cougars. But the Cougars are wary of a field dominated by teams coming off a wacky year in the Mountain Valley Conference and sprinkled with unknowns from the Western Maine Conference, one of whom, either Old Orchard Beach or Waynflete, will greet them in the quarterfinals.

“I think it’s wide open,” Dirigo coach Ryan Palmer said. “I think we’re in a year where you really could see a lower seed in the semifinals. You can’t overlook a team like (No. 7 seed) Madison, which lost to a 1-13 Telstar team and then turned around and beat Winthrop last week.”

Dirigo doesn’t have a Ben Holmes to hold down the mound throughout the tournament this time. Palmer needs his staff, led by Kaine Hutchins, to throw strikes and keep crooked numbers off the board so his offense, which averages more than nine runs per game, can turn up the pressure with its team speed and deep lineup, led by Hunter Ross, Alex Snowman and Tyler Frost.

“We’ve had our hiccups here and there,” Palmer said. “When we had two losses early on in the year, I told the team just as long as we’re playing our best ball come playoff time, I’ll be happy. And that’s what we’ve been doing.”

St. Dom’s coach Bob Blackman is satisfied even though his team faces a possible semifinal matchup with No. 3 Winthrop, which upset the Saints in last year’s quarterfinals and handed them one of their two losses this year. The Saints have defeated Dirigo twice in three meetings, including Friday’s MVC championship, and have won four state titles that have all come over the past four years ending in an odd number.

No. 3 Winthrop (12-3) holds the distinction of beating both of the top two seeds. All of the higher seeds agree that No. 5 Monmouth (11-5) is a dangerous team, but it has to get through the quarterfinals and No. 4 Hall-Dale, which has won seven in a row and eight of its last nine. No. 11 Mt. Abram (5-10), which has wins over Hall-Dale and Oak Hill on its resume, will face No. 7 Madison in the prelims.

Including Saturday’s 10-0 win over Hampden Academy in the KVAC title game, Oxford Hills allowed more than four runs in a game once all season. The Vikings (14-2)  rode the pitching of Dalton Rice, Walter Feeney, Ryan Godin, Riley Chickering and closer Garrett Fillebrown and outstanding defense to their second No. 1 seed in Eastern A under Shane Slicer and home-field advantage through the first two rounds.

“Whether you’re one, two or three, you’re going to have to beat some good teams,” said Slicer, whose team found that out first-hand in a 1-0 loss last week to Skowhegan, the No. 5 seed. “As the No. 1, you do avoid the (numbers) two and three until the finals, but the four and five teams are very good.”

Slicer does have the luxury of deciding who to throw in its quarterfinal game against the winner of the 8 vs. 9 prelim between Brewer and Brunswick, both of whom the Vikings have beaten. KVAC co-player of the year Jordan Croteau is the only holdover from the Vikes 2010 state title, but Slicer is confident his team can avoid the fatal mistakes that often doom favorites this time of year.

“This is the best situation we’ve been in, having that much depth on the mound,” said Slicer, who was the conference’s coach of the year. “Part of that we have confidence in our defense. I think that’s most important. We have great defense. Even if we’re getting hit, the other team is going to have to put together a lot of hits in a row.”

Lewiston (10-6) already knows who it will play in Thursday’s quarterfinal, No. 2 Hampden. The Blue Devils could be a tough out if the higher seeds let them hang around. They are 7-1 in games decided by two runs or less.

Greely suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of Cape Elizabeth on Friday. The Rangers (15-1) still did plenty to lock up the top seed in Western B before that. Defending state champion Falmouth lurks as the No. 2.

Poland and MVC representatives Oak Hill and Spruce Mountain all had to win their final games to secure the final three spots in the field, and maybe getting a head start on the must-win method will give each an edge going into the tournament.

All three teams will hit the road to face unfamiliar foes for Tuesday’s prelims. Poland (9-7) takes on No. 7 Maranacook. Oak Hill (8-8) travels to No. 6 Cape Elizabeth. Spruce Mountain (9-7) has the longest trip, to No. 5 York.

In Class D, Buckfield garnered the top seed to try to defend its regional title. The Bucks (12-1) have won nine straight and hope to maintain that momentum during a nine-day break before next Saturday’s semifinal against the winner of the Forest Hills/Greenville semifinal.

Scarborough, John Bapst, Stearns and Hodgdon are the other four top seeds.