Fort Fairfield baseball is bringing the Gold Glove back to The County.

The Tigers beat Telstar 4-1 Saturday at St. Joseph’s College in Standish to win the Class D baseball state championship, capturing Fort Fairfield’s first baseball state title since 1994.

After a postseason full of tight games, late answers and pressure moments, the Tigers did something different in the state final.

They struck first.

Fort Fairfield scored three runs in the third inning, added another in the fourth, and made the lead hold up behind Jonah LeBlanc and Cayden Ala on the mound.

Tigers Take Control In The Third

Fort Fairfield put runners on in each of the first two innings, but Telstar pitcher Bryson Walker worked through the early trouble.

That changed in the third.

Lucas Cormier reached on an error to start the inning, and Ala followed with a walk. Levi Cole then singled to load the bases for King.

King delivered the first big swing, singling to center field to bring in Cormier and give Fort Fairfield a 1-0 lead.

Charlie Griffeth followed with an RBI single to left, scoring Ala and making it 2-0.

Eric Helstrom then grounded out to second base, bringing in Cole and stretching the lead to 3-0.

For a Fort Fairfield team that had spent much of the postseason answering back, the state final gave the Tigers a chance to play from in front.

King Adds One More

Fort Fairfield added an insurance run in the fourth.

Cormier singled to open the inning, then stole second before Ala singled to put runners on the corners. Ala later moved up to second, and King came through again with a base hit to left field.

Ala scored on the play, giving Fort Fairfield a 4-0 lead.

King finished with three hits and 2 RBIs. Ala had a double, a single, a walk and scored twice. Cole had two hits and scored a run, while Cormier, Griffeth and Ryan Schlesinger also had hits for the Tigers.

LeBlanc And Ala Finish It

LeBlanc gave Fort Fairfield a strong championship start, working 6.1 innings and throwing 101 pitches, 64 for strikes.

Telstar put runners on throughout the game, but LeBlanc and the Tigers kept the Rebels from turning those chances into a big inning.

The biggest defensive stop came in the fifth.

Telstar loaded the bases with nobody out, but Maceo Bartlett hit a ground ball back to LeBlanc. LeBlanc threw home to Cole, who fired to first baseman Jacob Edgecomb to complete the 1-2-3 double play.

Telstar still had two runners in scoring position, but Fort Fairfield escaped the inning without allowing a run.

The Rebels scored their only run in the seventh after Bryson Walker singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Brennan Walker groundout.

Ala came on from there and faced the final two batters.

Luke Mowery popped out to Griffeth at third base, and Connor Deprey flew out to Conor Babin in center field for the final out.

That final catch sealed a 4-1 win, the Class D state championship and Fort Fairfield’s first baseball Gold Glove in 32 years.

Fort Fairfield finished with 4 runs on 10 hits and one error, while Telstar had one run on 7 hits and two errors.

Game Stats

Graedon King led the Tigers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Cayden Ala went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored, while Levi Cole added two hits and scored a run. Lucas Cormier singled, stole a base and scored, Charlie Griffeth drove in a run with a single, Ryan Schlesinger singled and walked, and Eric Helstrom added an RBI groundout.

On the mound, Jonah LeBlanc worked 6.1 innings for Fort Fairfield, allowing one earned run on 7 hits with 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, 64 for strikes. Ala came on to record the final two outs, throwing 8 pitches, 5 for strikes.

For Telstar, Bryson Walker and Brennan Walker each had two hits. Bryson Walker scored the Rebels’ lone run and stole a base, while Brennan Walker drove him in with a seventh-inning groundout. Luke Mowery, Connor Deprey and Maceo Bartlett each added a hit, with Deprey also drawing two walks.

Bryson Walker started for Telstar and went 4 innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 9 hits with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. Brennan Walker threw the final 3 innings, allowing one hit with no runs, no walks and 2 strikeouts.

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