GORHAM – Junior pitcher/first baseman Pat Duchette took time out from practice last Thursday to contemplate the possibility that he and his Oak Hill teammates would be celebrating their first Class B baseball championship Saturday.

“Everyone here wants to win it for ourselves, for the team, for our community, but the big one is Dags,” Duchette said. “Coach (Bill) Fairchild, we want to see him get one, and we all want to get one, but it’s Dags’ senior year and, well, he’s just Daggett.”

“Dags” is Mike Daggett, a tall, lanky right-hander who was one of only two seniors on the Oak Hill team that beat Bucksport Saturday, 7-3, for the state title.

With his tireless work ethic, his quick smile and his quiet, happy-go-lucky demeanor, Daggett was the most popular Raider on the Gorham High School field Saturday. He got the most high fives while the Raiders celebrated their win together. He also got the loudest ovation from the throng that came from Sabattus, Wales and Litchfield to cheer the Raiders on when each player was announced after the game to pick up their individual awards.

“The program’s turned around a lot since he’s been here,” said junior shortstop Adam Labbe.

A lot of that is because of Daggett, who has been the Raiders’ ace since his sophomore year.

“We’ve been really young or we’ve been limited, and Dags has been the guy the whole time that’s stood up and taken the tough games and the tough losses. So I think that Dags paid the price,” said coach Bill Fairchild. “He’s such a leader and such a good kid. (His teammates) know that he’s going to give them 100 percent out there on the mound, and they’re not going to let him down, either.”

“When we see someone like Daggett, who there’s so much hype for, go up and above what everyone thinks he’s capable of, we play 10 times better just for him,” Duchette said.

With a 9-1 record this season, Daggett went above and beyond even the loftiest expectations, as did his 3-0 record in this postseason.

His playoff performance (four earned runs in 21 innings) is even more remarkable considering Daggett decided to change the three-quarters motion he’d used his whole career to a sidearm motion while warming up for his first playoff game this year against Gray-New Gloucester. He threw 19 consecutive scoreless innings with the new delivery until Bucksport got a run across in the sixth inning Saturday.

“He’s a good pitcher,” said Bucksport coach Mike Cowing. “I think we’ve seen better pitchers, but that look is a little different. We finally got used to it in the later innings.”

“He was a lot stronger today,” said Oak Hill catcher Kyle Lunn. “During warm-ups I was like, ‘Wow , this kid’s going to be insane.'”

“He’s worked so hard, forever, to get to this point where we are right now,” added Lunn. “We just wanted to do it for him.”

The feeling, Daggett would tell his teammates, is very mutual.

“These guys are just awesome,” he said. “Every day they’re just so much fun to be around. They’re like family.”