The Windham High School baseball team had their
Cinderella-type run through the playoffs ended by the number one seed from the
East, the Bangor Rams, 8-0 in the Class A State Championship game at Saint
Joseph’s College, in Standish, last Saturday.
The Eagles faced off against Bangor's number one pitcher,
Justin Courtney, (6-1), and he set the tone for the game right from the start.
Cushioned with a first inning, 2-run lead by the Rams' offense, Courtney went
on to allow only one hit, while striking out 10 Windham hitters the rest of the
day. The Eagles hit some balls hard, but right at Bangor defensemen and
couldn't put anything together against Courtney.
Bangor jumped out to that 2-0 advantage in the first, as
their lead-off hitter, Jordan Derrah, cranked the second pitch he saw from
Windham starter Spencer Hodge to the left centerfield gap for a double. That
was followed by a single to center by Trevor Delhaite and another single by
Courtney to score the first run. The Rams added another run after Windham's
defense rolled a double play. . A grounder to shortstop Tyler Johnson kicked
off the heel of his glove and the throw was late to first, allowing Delhaite to
score, making it 2-0.
That would prove to be all the runs Courtney would need
as he settled in and cruised to the seventh inning, not allowing a hit.
Windham's Ethan Petty slapped a single through the shortstop hole for the
Eagle's only hit, in the seventh. "He, (Courtney), was in more of a rhythm
than Labell, (Jake Labell of Marshwood), in the Western Maine game," said
Windham coach Brody Artes. "We aren't a great curveball hitting team to
begin with, and he was able to be in the mid-80s with his fastball and come
with that great curve to keep us really off balance," he added.
Bangor added two more runs in the third inning, both with
two outs. Courtney again hit a laser to left for a single. Next hitter, Andrew
Flair, ripped a double past third base and into the left field corner, putting
runners at second and third. Bangor's Sam Houston then blasted a triple to deep
right center field to score Courtney and Flair.
Windham threatened in the fifth inning, loading the bases
with no outs. After two walks and an infield error by Bangor, the Eagles were
on the verge of getting on the board. Windham left fielder Josh Dugas hit a
tapper back to Courtney, who came home on the force play, one out. Eagle second
baseman Alex Loftis tapped to third base, and the drawn-in infield made the
play easy, another force out at home, two outs. Next hitter Zack Conley struck
out looking on the curve.
Bangor tacked on three more runs in the sixth to put the
game away and give the Rams the State title. "We had a great season to get
to this point, we were just never able to break through today," Artes
said. "I didn’t feel we played terrible at all, we just didn’t catch the
breaks we needed." 
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