You might say the last two weeks have been a blur for the Biddeford baseball team.

Faced with a must-win situation in the final regular-season game to make the tournament, the Tigers (12-7) have continued to win to reach the school’s state baseball final in 14 years.

Additional Photos

Tyler Parker and his Biddeford teammates will play Oxford Hills for the Class A state title at noon today. Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Biddeford will play Oxford Hills at noon today at St. Joseph’s College for the Class A title. The Tigers upset Westbrook 4-2 to win the regional tournament Tuesday. Oxford Hills beat Brewer 10-2 to win Eastern Class A.

Every game since the regular- season finale has been a must- win. The seventh-seeded Tigers now have a chance to win their second state title in baseball, the first coming in 1984.

“We like being in that position,” said Tyler Audie, a pitcher-outfielder. “We’re putting things together at the right time. I don’t think any one of us imagined being in the state game for baseball. It just kind of popped up. It’s all kind of surreal.”

Biddeford knew once it got into the regional tournament, it had as good a chance as the other seven teams.

Audie knows about being on state championship teams. He’s a member of Biddeford’s hockey team that has won back-to-back titles.

“It would be unbelievable to win two rings in one year. We want to put Biddeford on the baseball map,” he said.

Since winning the regional title, the Tigers have received plenty of attention from people in the city.

“We’ve received tons of fan support,” said Coach Casey Roy. “The adults are just as excited as the kids. The parents are planning to do some things for the kids before the game. The kids are excited for the opportunity to play in the game. There are a lot of people pulling for us.”

Because Trevor Fleurent pitched Tuesday, he’s available to start against Oxford Hills.

“Trevor is pitching well,” said Roy. “We’ll see how many innings he can give us.”

Once the Tigers got into the tournament, they liked their chances.

They liked the fact they were in the other bracket from Deering and Westbrook, who played in the semifinals. The Tigers beat second-seeded Scarborough in the quarterfinals and sixth-ranked Windham in the semifinals.

“It gives you more confidence when you see teams in the tournament that have lost a few games instead of a team that hasn’t lost in two years,” said Roy. “The kids bought into the belief that any team in the tournament could be beat.”

Looking ahead to the Vikings, Roy said, “They’re a real aggressive club. They have some good hitters at the top of their lineup.”

“We’re not satisfied with the Western Maine title,” said Audie. “Hopefully we can finish this off.”

CLASS B: Cape Elizabeth is playing in its second Class B state final in three seasons. The Capers lost to Gardiner 10-0 in 2008.

Waterville is playing in its first Class B final and second title game overall. The Panthers lost to Deering 9-2 in the 2001 Class A final. They will play, beginning at 11 a.m., at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

The Capers have been the most successful Class B program in the state with 10 state titles, the last in 2004. 

CLASS C: Western Maine champion Dirigo (17-2) and Eastern Maine champion Calais (15-3) will meet at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph’s College.

The Cougars beat St. Dominic 6-4 for the regional title while the Blue Devils downed Penobscot Valley 4-3 for the Eastern Maine championship.

This will be Dirigo’s first appearance in a state baseball final. Calais is making its fifth appearance, winning in 1976. 

CLASS D: Richmond (14-4) and Central Aroostook (16-3) will play for the state title at 4 p.m. at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. Richmond lost in last year’s final to Deer Isle-Stonington. 

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

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