By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

One way or another, Lewiston and Edward Little were going to play each other twice this season.

The rivals have played home-and-home baseball games virtually every year going back to their SMAA days. But a quirk in the KVAC scheduling limited them to just one meeting this year.

So perhaps it was destiny that the 12th-seeded Blue Devils (8-8) and the fifth-seeded Red Eddies (11-5) are matched up in an Eastern Class A prelim at 4 p.m. today at Pettengill Park. No doubt Lewiston at least deserves a chance at evening the score after its 10-1 loss to EL back on May 3.

“Hey, why not?” said Lewiston coach Don King. “That’s good. It gives us a shot at some revenge.”

“This is not the same Lewiston team we saw at the beginning of the year,” said EL coach Scott Annear. “They’re certainly playing good ball. They’ve improved their defense, they’ve improved their pitching and they’ve improved their hitting.”

The Blue Devils, making their first non-open tourney appearance since 1992, are playing better all-around baseball. They’ve won seven of 11 since that loss to EL, thanks in part to more timely hitting from an offense led by Luke Potter and Nate Gruz, and fewer mistakes by the defense, which has bolstered a solid pitching staff led by Potter, Nick Langlais and Zack Timmermeyer.

“Our kids know they can play with them. That’s not a question. They feel pretty good going into this game,” King said. “It just comes down to getting the outs when they give them to you and taking the runs when you can get them.”

Good fundamental baseball has been a key to the Eddies success this season as well.

“Our pitchers have been throwing strikes and doing their job, and the fielders know the pitchers are going to be keeping them in the ball game, and they both take a lot of pride in that,” Annear said. “The pitchers know if we just throw good pitches and throw a lot of strikes, we don’t have to be perfect because we’ve got a lot of people that are going to be able to make plays.”

EL doesn’t have one standout pitcher, but they do have equal confidence in their entire pitching staff, whether it’s Derek Doucette, who two-hit the Blue Devils earlier this year, Chris Merrill, who beat Oxford Hills, or Justin Ciszewski, Kyle Giguere or Steve Simpson. The offense, led by Ciszewski and Brian Erickson, will be looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to Skowhegan in their regular season finale.

No. 10 Skowhegan (8-8) wouldn’t mind that shutout carrying over into today’s tilt with No. 7 Mt. Blue (4 p.m., Hippach Field). But the Cougars (10-6) have the pitching to match up with them, as the Indians know too well from a 3-1 defeat earlier in the season.

“They’re a lot like us – they’re getting good pitching, playing good defense and they’ve had trouble scoring runs,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said of Skowhegan. “It’s almost like an intrasquad scrimmage.”

In Class B, Oak Hill (7-9) and Lincoln Academy (9-7) may feel like they’re playing an intrasquad game, so familiar are those two teams with each other. The pair split their regular season games, with Lincoln swamping Oak Hill, 10-3, on opening day, and the Raiders getting payback, 5-4, in mid-May.

No. 11 Fryeburg Academy (6-10) meets No. 6 Greely (10-6). The Raiders beat the Rangers, 3-2 on a passed ball in the ninth inning in their only game.

A rematch of another regular-season thriller highlights the Class C schedule. No. 7 Livermore Falls (9-7) knocked off No. 10 Lisbon (6-10) back in April on Tyler Cote’s walk-off grand slam, and the two will square off again at 4:30 p.m. at Griffin Field.

“Just because we beat them doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen again,” said Andies’ coach Brian Dube. “Lisbon’s a young team, but as usual, they’re well coached and they field the ball well. We’re going to have to play good ball to beat them.”

Mike Wilkins (2-4) is the Greyhounds’ scheduled starter. Brad Bryant (4-2) will get the call for the Andies. Lisbon coach Randy Ridley sees Bryant, who also sparks the Livermore offense, as a double threat.

“If we can shut him down, that’s key,” he said. “They’ve got good team speed and good overall pop in the lineup, which suits them fine for that ballpark.”

Elsewhere in Class C, No. 5 Jay (9-7) hosts No. 12 Madison (6-10) at Ouellette Field, while No. 9 Mt. Abram (8-7) takes a long road trip to No. 8 Wiscasset (8-6).