AUGUSTA — Don’t worry animal lovers. Peter Potthoff promises to be a lot more gentle the next time he encounters a horsehide.

Potthoff, Cheverus’ senior slugger who is headed to Florida to study in veterinary school, pounded two doubles and a home run and drove in five to lead the Stags to their first Class A baseball title with a convincing 9-1 victory over Lewiston Saturday at Morton Field.

“We’ve been preparing for this game our entire season,” Potthoff said. “We just came in ready to hit.”

While Potthoff led an aggressive offense (nine hits) that attacked Lewiston pitching like a pack of rabid dogs, senior southpaw Joe Royer was putting the potent Blue Devil lineup to sleep.

Royer went the distance, fanning seven and walking one while yielding six hits. Luke Cote’s leadoff homer in the sixth spoiled his shutout bid. He was at his best while the Stags were taking control of the game, retiring 11 in a row before Cote cleared the right field fence.

“He dominated,” Cheverus coach Mac McKew said. “He had command of all of his pitches.”

“Royer was the man today,” Lewiston coach Todd Cifelli said. “He changed speeds. We were a little bit better the second half of the game. We haven’t seen pitching like that since August of last year (in the American Legion regionals).”

Lewiston (18-2) had its best chance to rattle Royer in the first two innings. Scott Ouellette stroked a one-out single in the first. With two out, Corbin Hyde hit a deep fly ball that left fielder Peter Gwilym caught a couple of steps shy of the wall.

In the second, the Blue Devils put two men on with one out when Joe Sullivan walked and Chris Madden (two hits) reached on a perfectly placed bunt between the mound and first base. Shawn Ricker sacrificed both runners into scoring position, but Tucker Beaudoin grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

Royer didn’t allow another Lewiston baserunner until the sixth.

Cheverus (18-2) went after Lewiston starter Jeff Keene early in counts. Only four of the 14 batters the senior lefty faced over three-plus innings went more than three pitches into their at-bats. Six swung at the first pitch.

“We’re always just waiting for that one fastball in the zone that we just wanted to mash,” Potthoff said. “We definitely did that today.”

Keene retired five of the first Stags he faced on ground balls, before the lower part of the order started to figure him out.

Jack Bushey led off the third with a single, moved to second on a bunt and scored on Spencer Cooke’s single. After a fly out and a walk, Potthoff jumped on the first pitch and ripped a double to left, driving in two for a 3-0 lead.

“Those type of pitchers typically give aggressive hitting teams trouble, especially the first time through the order,” McKew said. “We just wanted them to wait for the fastball. He’s got to throw it eventually.”

Potthoff struck again in the fifth with an RBI double off reliever Joe Sullivan. He scored Cheverus’ fifth run when Corbin Hyde misplayed a fly ball to shallow center.

The Stags capped the scoring in the sixth with a two-run double by Louis DiStasio and Potthoff’s two-run blast to right-center.

The Blue Devils graduate seven seniors, a class which won the state American Legion title last year, earned the school’s first KVAC championship this spring and went to its first Class A title game since 1950.

“This senior class, when you count playoffs, spring and Legion ball, won 108 games,” Cifelli said. “KVAC champions, the most wins in regular-season Class A baseball, Eastern A champions, beating Bangor twice. We accomplished a ton.”