AUGUSTA — One jolt from Nick Thompson was all Scarborough needed to erase the shock of squandering a two-run lead when it was one out away from a state title.

Thompson, a junior, led off the top of the eighth inning with a solo home run to right field to give the Red Storm a 3-2 win over unbeaten Oxford Hills in the Class A baseball state championship at Morton Field on Saturday.

Scarborough’s Jack Clark delivers a pitch against Oxford Hills in the fifth inning of the Class A state championship Saturday in Augusta. Clark allowed two runs on six hits, while striking out nine and walking three intentionally in 7 2/3 innings and the Red Storm won 3-2 in eight innings. Brewster Burns photo

“I did feel deflated for a second (after Oxford Hills rallied), but you can’t let yourself get down,” Thompson said.

“Coach (Mike D’Andrea) always just tells me to hit the ball hard,” said Thompson, who was up 2-1 in the count. “I saw an inside pitch. I did my best to turn on it. I think the wind really helped me out on that, to be honest. It went over the fence. It was a great feeling.”

It is the first Class A title for Scarborough (16-4) and its first state championship since winning Class B in 1986.

“This is familiar territory for us. We’ve been dealing with this all year,” said D’Andrea, who won his eighth state title as a coach (seven with Deering). “So, am I surprised? Not really. Was I excited about it? Not really. I would have liked to win in regulation. But I said that coming in, that this is a resilient group. They found a way to win. They’ve been doing it all year.”

Oxford Hills, seeking its first Class A state championship since 2010, ends its season at 19-1.

Down to their final out in the bottom of the seventh and trailing 2-0, Oxford Hills strung together three hits, interrupted by an intentional walk, against Scarborough starter Jack Clark to tie it on Rod Bean’s two-run single down the third base line.

The inning before, Clark escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam with a strikeout and force out at second to preserve the 2-0 lead.

Oxford Hills shortstop Janek Luksza makes a throw during the Class A state championship in Augusta on Saturday. Brewster Burns photo

Prior to that, the senior right-hander was dominant, allowing only two base runners (single, hit by pitch) through the first five innings.

Scarborough took advantage of some uncharacteristic wildness from Vikings junior starter Wyatt Williamson to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A walk, hit batter and single by Thompson loaded the bases with no one out. Peter O’Brien walked on a 3-1 pitch to force home Noah Frink.

Williamson (seven innings, six hits, three earned runs, three strikeouts, three walks, one intentional walk, two hit batters) buckled down and ended the damage there, getting a pop-up, called third strike and ground out to second base to end the threat.

“I wasn’t surprised we only got one (run),” D’Andrea said. “Williamson’s a heck of a pitcher. It’s a well-coached team. We knew we were in a dog fight today.”

“We had a tough first inning, but Wyatt settled in good. I thought it was a tremendous job getting out of it with just one run. He kept us in the game,” Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer said. “We showed some toughness coming back from two down at the end.”

Clark, who helped the Red Storm beat top-seeded South Portland, 3-2 in 11 innings, with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to win the A South title on Wednesday, allowed just one Vikings base runner (hit by pitch in the first) through the first 3 2/3 innings Saturday. He struck out two batters per inning through the first four innings and got some help on a fine leaping catch by Matt Ricker to rob Will Dieterich of at least a single with one out in the third.

Williamson settled down after the first with the help of the Viking defense, which turned four double plays behind him. Williamson himself started a nifty 1-4-3 double play on Clark’s bunt attempt to erase a leadoff infield single by Zach Alofs (3-for-4, double) in the fourth.

Clark (7 1/3 innings, six hits, two earned runs, nine strikeouts, two intentional walks, one hit batter) retired 14 of 15 Viking batters in innings two through six, allowing only a two-out single in the fourth to Cam Slicer (2-for-3).

“My outside fastball was working the entire time, get that two-seamer to run back in on them,” Clark said. “For the first half of the game, I don’t think they’d seen a lot of that.”

“He has matured so much over the last couple of years,” D’Andrea said of Clark. “This year, he became a real quiet competitor. He’s a cerebral player. And now he’s a competitive player. You take that on the mound, the smart player with a guy competing out there. He just has a will to win.”

Cam Slicer got him again for a one-out single in the sixth, which Bean promptly followed with a double to right-center. The Red Storm intentionally walked Janek Luksza to face clean-up hitter Ashton Kennison, who Clark had struck out in his previous two plate appearances. Clark got him swinging again on a 3-2 pitch, then got Williamson to ground into a force out at second to end the threat.

Scarborough added an insurance run in the top of the seventh but again could have done more damage. Nic Frink led off with a double to center and Wyatt Plummer moved him over with a bunt single. Oxford Hills intentionally walked No. 9 hitter T.J. Lipanis to load the bases with none out, and Noah Frink followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score his brother and make it 2-0.

Oxford Hills’ Cameron Slicer reacts after getting to third base in the sixth inning of the Class A state championship game against Scarborough on Saturday in Augusta. Brewster Burns photo

Williamson battled out of further trouble by inducing Nolan Lamontagne to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play.

Jonny Pruett’s two-out single got the Vikings’ game-tying rally started. Ethan Cutler doubled him to third, and Scarborough intentionally walked Slicer to load the bases for Bean, who ripped Clark’s 1-0 pitch past the diving third baseman to score Pruett and Cutler with the tying runs.

“That was a great fight. Maybe that’s all we had left in us,” Shane Slicer said.

Bean moved to second on the unsuccessful throw home, which led the Red Storm to intentionally walk Luksza and pitch to Kennison, who Clark struck out looking.

After giving up the homer to Thompson in the eighth, Williamson walked O’Brien to end his outing and moved to catcher. Luksza relieved him on the mound and, on his first pitch, Williamson threw out O’Brien trying to steal second.

Scarborough still threatened to add to its lead as Alofs doubled and Clark singled to put runners on the corners with one out. But Luksza kept it at 3-2 with Bean making a nice leaping catch of a soft liner to second, followed by a fly out to center on a nice running catch by Slicer.

Oxford Hills’ Ethan Cutler leaves a cloud of dust after scoring the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning against Scarborough in the Class A state championship Saturday in Augusta. Scarborough scored in the top of the eight to win, 3-2. Brewster Burns photo

Two pitches shy of the 110-pitch limit to start the bottom of the eighth, Clark ended his outing by getting Williamson to fly out to right. Sophomore Ryan Gambardella took over in relief and got a fly out to right and a strikeout to end it and spark Scarborough’s celebration.

“When I went out there and gave (Gambardella) the ball, he said, ‘Let’s win this coach. Let’s win this,'” D’Andrea said. “I had a good feeling walking away from the mound.”

Oxford Hills graduates eight seniors, seven starters with University of Maine-bound ace Colton Carson included.

“I’m proud of them,” Shane Slicer said. “It’s baseball. Anything can happen on a championship day. We turned four or five double plays. We played well. It’s just we didn’t get to Clark. He pitched well.”

“I can’t take anything away from the great season we’ve had. It would have been nice to come out on top today,” he added.

Oxford Hills’ Jonny Pruett catches a popped up bunt as he is about to collide with teammate and Oxford Hills catcher Andrew Merrill during Vikings’ 3-2 loss to Scarborough in the Class A baseball state championship game on Saturday in Augusta. Brewster Burns photo

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