Mount Abraham pulls off unlikely title run

The team that came out of nowhere actually hails from Bristol.

And before the Mount Abraham Eagles reached the Division II state championship, they weren’t very good. Winless after six games, they were reeling, out of synch. Exasperation — or was it desperation? — forced a turning point.

“We were struggling in every facet of the game,” coach Jeff Stetson said.

“None of us were getting along,” said senior catcher Anthony Robideau.

But an hour-and-a-half team meeting after that sixth loss, a blowout at the hands of Middlebury, gave the Eagles a road map to change their fate.

“We made an oath … we were going to turn round the season,” Robideau said.

Six weeks later, after a fraught postseason, a two-hit gem from junior left-hander Adam Whitcomb and a 15-hit barrage against No. 6 Bellows Falls in the title game, eighth-seeded Mount Abraham had its redemption with an 11-1 victory on a gray Saturday afternoon at Centennial Field.

So when, exactly, did the Eagles become a championship-caliber club?

“About the fourth inning today,” Stetson said.

The bottom line is just as stunning as the turnaround: Finishing the season 9-11, Mount Abraham didn’t just wrap up the program’s seventh state crown, they became the first D-II championship squad with a losing record in the modern era — possibly ever.

First, the Eagles had to rally for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to survive Lyndon in the opening round of the playoffs. Then they knocked off top-seeded Lamoille, the defending champion. And in the semifinals, pitcher George Bailey and the defense delivered a flawless performance in a 3-0 win.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have some really good teams and been here many times, but never with a group that’s done something like this,” said Stetson, in his 35th year at the helm.

Bellows Falls (11-9) struck first, starting pitcher Zac Streeter scoring from second after an error in center field.

Whitcomb was unfazed, though, and held the Terriers hitless until the fifth inning while his offense went about building a 7-1 cushion.

“They just kept coming after us,” Bellows Falls coach Bob Lockerby said.

“Nobody hit like that against us this year,” Lockerby said. “Burr and Burton, they’re playing for a (Division I) state title, they beat us 5-0. (Mount Abraham) mashed the ball.”

Chris Wood led the onslaught, going 4-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored. Whitcomb went 3-for-4 with three RBIs — his two-run double in the fifth the hit that chased Streeter (four-plus innings, seven hits, two strikeouts) from the game.

The bottom of the Eagles’ order was just as potent, too. No. 8 hitter Caleb Bonvouloir was 3-for-3 with a double and Robideau, in the No. 9 slot, was 2-for-2 with a triple, double and two RBIs.

“We didn’t have a game where we had more than nine hits all season,” Stetson said. “Then we get to the state championship and we get 15 — extra bases and everything.”

By the time the Terriers made their third and final pitching change, in the seventh inning, Whitcomb busied himself in the on-deck circle by leading the crowd singing along with “Sweet Caroline.”

“I was just having some fun with it. We were up by a fairly large margin,” Whitcomb said. “I was just trying to keep things loose.”

Whitcomb followed with his third 1-2-3 inning. He fanned the final two batters to finish with six strikeouts against the two hits and a walk.

Turnaround complete, the Eagles could celebrate the fruits of their labor — as unlikely as it gets.

“Back in early May I felt like we were a team that didn’t deserve this at all,” Robideau said. “This wasn’t an option for us. Going through the season, winning — it’s amazing.”

Contact Austin Danforth at 651-4851 or edanforth@freepressmedia.com.