All that added up to a 3-2 victory for Maynard and his Sacopee Valley Hawks, who beat George Stevens Academy in the Class C baseball state championship game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on the campus of St. Joseph’s College on Saturday.
One week ago, Maynard pitched into extra innings and threw 138 pitches in a semifinal win over Monmouth. He needed just over half that (75) to get through The northern Maine champion Eagles (18-2).
“My arm is good, I had a week off,” Maynard, a senior left-hander, said. “I didn’t throw until Friday, and I threw a light bullpen. I was feeling fresh and live, and everything was strong.”
A fresh Maynard had an unconventional 1-2-3 top of the first, getting a fly out and a strikeout before giving up a two-out single to Dakota Chipman. But Maynard then picked off Chipman to get out of the inning.
That was a stark difference from the first frame the southern Maine champion Hawks (16-3) went through in the regional final, when they fell behind 5-0 after half an inning.
“I think it got us in a different frame of mind than we had been the last couple games,” Hawks coach Eric Anderson. “It was very big.”
The Hawks then got on top in the bottom of the frame, with Maynard singling past diving second baseman Nick Norton for the third in a series of singles that drove in Brady Anderson.
“First time, I think, in 11 playoff games that we’ve been on top early,” Coach Anderson said. “That’s what we really stressed this week on practice. We had such an ugly inning with Lisbon.”
While Maynard was putting together 1-2-3 innings, the Sacopee Valley offense put together run-scoring innings in the third and fourth. A two-out double down the third-base line by Kyle Jordan brought home DJ Shea in the third, then Brandon Burnell scored the third run with a lead-off double down the third-base line in the fifth. Burnell later scored on a fielder’s choice that was thrown high to Chipman at catcher. Jared Jordan picked up the RBI.
The Hawks hit the ball well through four innings, but only had three runs to show for it.
But that was enough for Maynard.
“That’s plenty of runs for me to just fly through,” Maynard said. “I feel pretty good with my stuff.”
It didn’t seem as comfortable of a lead when the Eagles began to rally. Stefan Simmons tripled in Will Entwisle in the fifth, then Tyler McKenney led off the sixth with a double and scored on Taylor Schildroth’s RBI groundout.
“I think the guys relaxed a little bit,” GSA coach Dan Kane said.
Maynard allowed a one-out single to Jacob Keenan in the top of the seventh, but then struck out Entwistle and Simmons to end the game.
“You know, it wasn’t until the very last inning, when they got that runner on base, is when I started really feeling nervous,” Anderson said.
Those nerves didn’t make it out to the mound with Maynard, however.
“It really didn’t faze me much,” Maynard said. “I don’t get too nervous under pressure.”
Keenan pitched into the fourth for the Eagles, but was pulled after Burnell’s lead-off double. Beckett Slayton took over and held the Hawks to just one hit the rest of the way.
“He did a beautiful job,” Kane said of Slayton. “He kept them down, gave us an opportunity.”
But Slayton still wasn’t as dominant as Maynard, who scattered five hits and didn’t allow a walk.
“I felt comfortable with Roderick on the mound,” Anderson said. “I really thought one (run) might win it. But they scratched back and got a couple there, so I was glad we got three.”
“He’s a tough pitcher. We knew he was going to come at us,” Kane said of Maynard. “Pitchers like that, it’s hard to put big innings up. We picked away, just came up one short.”
For the Hawks, the state title was two years in the making, after losing the state final on the same field in 2014.
“The seniors really stepped up. Obviously, Roderick on the mound, but the leadership from Brady at short and Kyle at third and Devin (Day) at center field, they really stepped up this year,” Anderson said. “It’s a whole different feeling than two years ago.”
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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