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Bangor

BANGOR, Me. - Two years as head coach and two years as state champion.

Not a bad start for Bangor head coach Dave Morris.

“Bangor has always had a great baseball tradition,” noted Morris, who has been with the Rams for nine years, the past two in charge of a program that has now won 14 titles overall including the past five years in a row.

The chance to make it six straight championships is there according to Morris.

“Last year we had a very good senior class,” explained Morris, who lost two key players in three-year starting catcher Tyler Park, now at Southern Maine, and two-year starting shortstop Zach Ireland from a 19-1 team. “Those are big shoes to fill.

“But we’ve got a good nucleus back with three seniors returning and three juniors who have started. We have some newcomers to fill in at key positions, catcher and middle infield, but we have all but one pitcher back so we should be competitive.

“All of our seniors have been part of six state championships overall counting high school and legion,” Morris continued. “We hope that experience can be the X-factor.”

The Bangor head coach points to four key players as leaders in 2019.

Noah Missbrenner, a senior first baseman and right-handed pitcher who hits from the left side, is headed to play at Division III St. Joseph’s, Ma., while fellow senior Zach Cowperthwaite, a third baseman/RHP, is staying home to play at D-III Husson University in Bangor.

A pair of juniors will join the senior duo in the 2019 lineup, both standouts in other sports as well. Carson Prouty, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder who bats from the left side, is back after pitching in relief a year ago. Prouty, a state record swimmer, is a potential two-sport athlete in college. Jacob Munroe, who started all 56 games in high school and legion over the past year, is back to play outfield or fill in wherever needed. Munroe also plays hockey and soccer.

“One of the strengths of this team is the experience we have with the number of kids we have back,” Morris related. “Another benefit we have going for us is the younger kids have played in our Junior Legion program. We feel having played for us in the summer benefits one’s pitching experience.”

But there are concerns with the key losses from last season.

“Behind the plate we’ll have a young guy there and our middle infield will be young,” Morris said. “We need to strengthen and develop those positions if we’re going to get where we want to be.”

The Class A North League makes for tough competition throughout the season pointed out the Bangor mentor.

“There’s a lot of parity in the league,” Morris noted. “There are also a lot of guys back in the Oxford Hills Regional, but we should be one of the top teams.”

So what are the keys to making it six consecutive state championships?

“We need to take it one day at a time,” Morris said. “The biggest thing is to give the young kids experience early on and that they learn from their mistakes. As we move on, we need to get better as the season goes along and then play your best game in your last game.

“The kids have done a good job of not getting their eyesight too far ahead,” Morris added. “They’ve done a great job of taking a one-game approach.”