Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin looked at his team’s record and noted that the Cougars are within one game of clinching a spot in the KVAC playoffs.

“I would have been happy if someone had told me we were going to be 10-3 at this point, because we had a lot of question marks coming in,” he said.

Most of those question marks came on offense, and the Cougars are still trying to find consistency there.

Mt Blue’s pitching was highly-touted before the season, but even that has exceeded expectations. Led by Brian Wells (5-0) and Ben Saviello (4-1), the Cougar pitching staff has given up just 10 earned runs in 13 games. Junior reliever Nick Tibbetts has helped pick up the starters by pitching two and sometimes three innings of relief while shutting down the opposition.

“He’s done real well lately. He’s a young pitcher that’s kind of come into his own,” Parlin said.

Falcon frenzy

Another team adding testimony to the importance of good pitching is Mountain Valley, which is the only remaining unbeaten team in the Mountain Valley Conference despite batting just .225 as a team

“We’ve played the defense and our pitching is solid,” said Falcons’ coach Steve LaPointe.

Senior Richie Ross and sophomore Marcus Palmer have been the best one-two pitching combination in the MVC this year, with Tim Turner and Korey Staires lending plenty of support.

One day after the Falcons’ extra inning win over Livermore Falls on Monday, LaPointe divided his team into two parts to get some extra hitting in. The coach stressed getting back to the fundamentals and plate discipline to his players.

“These guys all want to swing at that pitch over their heads. They all think they can hit it,” he said.

Ropes and Polls

Frozen Ropes Training Centers is conducting a poll of high school coaches this season to determine the top five teams in each region in each class.

The latest poll, released Thursday, ranks Mt. Ararat No. 1 in Eastern A, followed by Oxford Hills, Cony, Mt. Blue and Gardiner. Deering, which is tied for 25th in the nation in Baseball America’s latest poll, is No. 1 in Western A.

In Class B West, Gorham owns the top spot, followed by Oak Hill, Lincoln Academy, Cape Elizabeth and Freeport (tied for fourth) and Greely.

St. Dom’s sits atop the C West poll, with Lisbon second, Jay third, Telstar fourth, and Monmouth and Mt. Abram tied for fifth.

North Yarmouth Academy is No. 1 in D West, followed by Richmond, Buckfield, Valley and Forest Hills.

rwhitehouse@sunjournal.com

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