TOPSHAM

Tuesday’s pre-game ceremony on Bruce Kingdon Field had a special feel to it.

As “Battle of the Bridge” baseball rivals Mt. Ararat and Brunswick prepared for the regular season Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference finale, the field’s namesake himself, Bruce Kingdon, walked to the mound and threw a strike to former Mt. Ararat coach and current Brunswick leader Craig Rogers.

In the Dragon dugout was former Eagles fireballer Mark Rogers, who had everyone buzzing in 2004 when he was throwing 95 mile-per-hour fastballs before being drafted to the major leagues by the Milwaukee Brewers.

“A lot of great memories,” Mark Rogers said.

“I have a lot of good memories here, playing here, three brothers that played here, three sons that played here, I coached here. There are a ton of great memories for sure,” said Craig Rogers. “I hate to see the grass being torn up.”

The ceremony was a prelude to the final regular season baseball game on Kingdon Field, with the new high school set to break ground. There was certainly a lot of nostalgia, but when the Senior Day festivities were completed, there was a game to be played.

The Eagles continued their hot streak, winning their eighth consecutive game with an 8-3 victory over the Dragons. Mt. Ararat will head to the postseason with an 11-5 record, while Brunswick finished 3-13 in Craig Rogers’ first season at the helm.

“We’re starting to come together,” said first-year Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase. “We were 3-5 at the midpoint, and we had a talk and decided that we had to come together and play like a team. The seniors have played together since they were 5-years old, and we knew that we had to finish this off with them.”

After the teams played a 1-0 contest on May 18 at Brunswick, the bats came alive early in the rematch. Mt. Ararat’s Hunter Lohr, Kyle Brennan and Nick Merrill singled to load the bases in the bottom of the first. With two outs against Brunswick starting pitcher Cam Daly, Nate Leslie singled to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Brunswick, entering the contest on an eight-game losing skid, responded in the second off of Eagles hurler Garrett Moody. Zack Grant and Scout Masse hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game, and Masse trotted home on an RBI single by Cam Dunton (2-for-3) for a 2-1 Dragon lead.

The Eagles tied the game in the second on a sacrifice fly ball by Kyle Brennan, but Brunswick reclaimed the lead in the third when

Mt. Ararat 8, Brunswick 3

At Topsham
Brunswick — 021 000 0 — 3- 5-5
Mt. Ararat — 114 011 X — 8-11-3
Cam Daly, Sam Sharpe (4), Noah Goddard (5), Ichino Honda (6) and Scout
Masse; Garrett Moody, Kaileb Hawkes
(7) and Nate Leslie.
WP — Moody; LP — Daly.
Doubles — (B) Zack Grant, Scout
Masse.
Repeat hitters — (B) Cam Dunton;
(MtA) Hunter Lohr 4, Nick Merrill.
Records — Mt. Ararat 11-5, Brunswick
3-13.
Up next for the Eagles — Class A
North quarterfinal, time and date TBA.
Note — Brunswick’s season is completed.

Ichino Honda scored on a Mt. Ararat miscue.

But, Mt. Ararat wasn’t going to be denied, plating four runs in the third to take the lead for good. Ten Eagles came to the plate, with Cole Bryant, Lohr and Brennan each driving in a run to give Mt. Ararat a 6-3 lead.

Lohr was all over the field, going 4-for-5 along with making two solid plays at second base.

“Hunter sets the table and makes it easier for our 2-4 hitters,” Chase said of Lohr.

“Everybody had it in the back of our minds that this was the last time at home, our last hurrah, and we wanted to show what we could do,” said Lohr. “We’re focused. We have a lot of great players on this team, guys with energy and guys that help us focus.”

For Brunswick, five errors hurt as Daly allowed six runs, with only earned over his three innings of work (three strikeouts, one walk, eight hits).

“We played the kind of game where we give up too many outs,” said Craig Rogers, who despite the loss had a positive spin on his team’s season. “All in all, I look at the enthusiasm. There are not too many frowns on the bench. The kids are enjoying themselves. I am not disappointed with the season at all.”

After a rough start, Moody was dominant, retiring the final 10 Dragons that he faced. The senior struck out seven, walked one and permitted four hits over six innings of work.

“Garrett is going to go out, pitch, and give you everything that he has,” Chase said.

Mt. Ararat tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth frames to complete the scoring. Merrill was 2-for-4, while Austin Damon singled and drove in a run.

Sam Sharpe, Noah Goddard and Honda combined to throw three innings of relief with five strikeouts, two walks and three hits. Kaileb Hawkes pitched a scoreless seventh inning for Mt. Ararat.