CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE BREWER GAME!

AUGUSTA — Corbin Hyde knew the curve was coming. He just had to figure out how to hit it.

Boy, did he.

Hyde drove a 1-2 curve ball from Augusta pitcher Ryan Minoty the opposite way and watched as it sailed over the left-field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning, igniting a 14-run outburst over three innings as Gayton Post 31 rallied from behind for the second time in as many games on Sunday to claim the 2011 Maine State American Legion baseball crown, the team's second consecutive title, with a 15-6 victory over Augusta Post 205.

"That was nice," said Hyde, who also collected tournament MVP honors. "I knew he was coming with a curve ball and I knew I'd probably have to shoot it the other way. I squared it up and it went."

That hit, a three-run shot that cut the Gayton deficit to 6-4, was only the third hit Minoty had allowed to that point. But it was the spark Gayton needed.

"Minoty was the Goliath of this tournament, and we knew we needed to knock him down," Gayton coach Todd Cifelli said. "He did a great job against us early, but we started to square him up and get the ball in play and get some outs. Corbin's home run was the catalyst for us."

After an out, the second of the sixth inning, Gayton plated another three runs on a double, a walk, a single and another double, the latter coming off the stick of Chris Madden, who sliced an outside pitch around first base up the right field line to score the go-ahead tally.

"We were up 6-1 and we had Ryan on the mound, we were in good shape, but I think we just asked too much of the young man," Augusta coach Ray Vallee said. "He refused to let us take him out of the game. He wanted to finish it out."

Gayton tacked on three more in the seventh, two on another long bomb, this off the bat of first-baseman Jeff Keene.

"I had a feeling if he got that front foot down against (Minoty) that he could do some damage," Hyde said. "He was so hyped up after that, and we just fed off that energy."

Hyde was also the winning pitcher Sunday, allowing six runs on four hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. Luke Cote was lights-out in relief, allowing only one hit and striking out three in three full innings of work. His only blemishes were the hit, a hit batter and a walk.

"He came to me and pretty much demanded the ball," Cifelli said. "He was determined to finish the game for us."

To put the finishing touches on the romp, Gayton sent nine more to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, plating five more runs, all with two outs, and all against Minoty.

"We've been scoring runs all tournament," Vallee said, "and we knew were needed to keep on doing that today against this team."

It seemed like things would go Augusta's way from the beginning. Minoty struck out the first four batters he saw and faced only one more than the minimum through three. But in the fourth, Gayton squeaked a run across after a dropped third strike, a passed ball, a groundout and a sacrifice. That countered three Augusta runs in the top of that fourth after a three-run blast by Cory Lapierre, his first of two long shots on the day.

After another run in the fifth, Lapierre's second jack in the sixth ran the Augusta advantage to 6-1.

"I think the big thing is, after those two shots, we kept our focus," Cifelli said. "After that home run was hit, we didn't go nuts in the dugout. We kept at it at the plate and dug in there."

Gayton's come-from-behind effort in the title game quite possibly wasn't its best comeback of the day.

Faced with a semifinal game against Brewer earlier in the day, Gayton did what it's done best all week — rallied to win the game from a dire situation.

In that game, Keene scored on a Chris Jacques pinch hit, Alex Parker drove home relief pitcher Shawn Ricker and Jacques scrambled home on a wild pitch to complete a three-run, ninth-inning rally as Gayton stunned the Falcons, 8-7.

Chris Madden, Ricker, Parker and Joe Sullivan shared pitching duties in that game, with Sullivan earning the win as the pitcher of record when the winning run scored.

"For those guys, especially Madden and Ricker, to have the games they had in the first game, it allowed us to go with Corbin in the second game," Cifelli said. "That was huge."

Gayton led 5-3 in the first game through seven innings, but Brewer plated three runs — none earned — in the eighth and another in the top of the ninth to go ahead by a pair, setting the stage for Gayton's late-inning heroics.

Post 31 advances to the Northeast Regional American Legion baseball tourney for the second consecutive year. This year's regional tournament begins Thursday at the Ballpark at Old Orchard Beach.

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Gayton Post 31 outfielder Joe Sullivan is the last to jump onto the pile as the team celebrates their victory over Augusta to win the Maine American Legion Baseball State Championship in Augusta Sunday.

Buy a print

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Corbin Hyde connects on a pitch for a home run during Sunday's championship game.

Buy a print

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Gayton's Joe Sullivan, left and Jeff Keene, right and other players celebrate as teammate Chris Jacques crosses the plate to score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning as the team came back from a two run deficit in the inning to beat Brewer and advance to the championship game later in the afternoon.

Buy a print

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Gayton's Chris Jacques, 13, is mobbed by his teammates after crossing the plate to score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning as the team came back from a two run deficit in the inning to beat Brewer and advance to the championship game later in the afternoon.

Buy a print

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Gayton's Chris Madden drops a sacrifice bunt in the championship game against Augusta.

Buy a print