GORHAM – Let’s just say that Tim Vacchiano saved his best for last.

When St. Dom’s and Sacopee met a month ago, Vacchiano elected not to send his freshman ace to the mound to face a Saints team she had already beaten once. He wasn’t thinking so much about that regular season game, he was thinking about Wednesday’s Western Maine Class C final.

“That was a conscious decision,” said the Sacopee coach, whose team lost that game 11-0. “Their three and four hitters were not at our first game. When we played them the second time, we knew we had a win over them, and we had a win over Buckfield and Lake Region.

“We knew we were going into a high spot.

“We consciously said that we’re coaching for the playoffs. We’re not coaching for the regular season. It’s kind of funny because I took a lot of heat from a lot of people for not giving them our best, but my job was to win at this level.”

It was a move that ultimately paid off for Vacchiano and his Hawks (18-1). Wednesday, the highly-touted freshman Michelle Libby took the mound and silenced the St. Dom’s bats in a 3-0 win at Robie Field.

It was the third straight meeting between the two rivals. St. Dom’s (14-4) took the previous two titles with 5-0 and 6-0 wins.

“The last two years, it was just awful losing this game and the Western Maine Championship,” said senior outfielder Carla Mixer. “I knew this year we had a different team. I think we were more confident than them. We knew coming in we had to work our hardest, and I think we did.

“We’re pretty even teams, and it came down to the little things.”

The previous two championship games were decided by a few miscues here or there that ultimately snowballed against the Hawks. This time things were reversed. Sacopee, a team with just three seniors and seven underclassmen, got the ball rolling early and rode the momentum for seven innings.

“It put us behind the eight-ball,” said St. Dom’s coach Dan Samson. “We just didn’t execute when we needed to execute.”

Libby did her share in preserving the early lead. She allowed just three hits, struck out six and didn’t walk anyone. As if that weren’t enough, she drove in Sacopee’s first two runs.

“The breaks went our way,” said Vacchiano. “We made most of our routine plays, and we didn’t give them anything back. Michelle pitched an outstanding game. She didn’t walk anybody and she threw strikes.”

Libby’s performance wasn’t the difference, Vacchiano said, but her presence gave the Hawks added confidence and it may have put a little doubt in the minds of the Saints. With both clubs being so evenly matched, every little bit helps.

“I think coming in, we knew their good hitters hadn’t seen her and that we had a chance,” said Mixer.

That confidence showed right from the start as Sacopee got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back hits with two made it a 1-0 game. Libby’s single up the middle plated Elyse White.

“We got the first break of the game,” said Vacchiano. “I think we made the breaks for ourselves. Scoring that first run was huge. To me, anytime you play in a one-game playoff, it’s a game of breaks. The last two years, the first year, it was 0-0 going into the sixth and we made one mistake and they scored four runs. Last year, it was 0-0 into the fourth, and they scored six runs after we made one mistake.”

Samson pulled starter Audrey Pleau after two innings and brought in Emily Goss, but the Hawks made it 2-0 in the third. Shaila Delea walked to lead off and moved along on a Mixer sacrifice. Again, with two outs, Libby delivered, driving a single into left.

Two errors set the Hawks up in the fourth. An Ann Marie Day infield hit off Goss’ glove made it 3-0, scoring Katie Stacey.

St. Dom’s didn’t get its first hit until the fifth. The closest the Saints came to scoring was when Autumn Bell was thrown out at the plate trying to score following a Sarah Kay hit.

“The umpire called it the way he called it,” said Samson. “I can second guess him all I want, but his call is the final call.”

The Saints got single hits from Julia Harper and Pleau in the sixth and seventh, respectively, but couldn’t muster much more.

“She (Libby) did a great job,” said Samson.