South Portland Walks Off To Edge Bangor For 1st A Baseball State Title Since 1952

After a 59-year drought, the long wait is over for the South Portland High School baseball program. Coach Mike Owens’ club used a literal walk-off — a bases-loaded base on balls — in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge Bangor 3-2 on Saturday at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish and capture its first Class A state championship since 1952. “With how many Division players and MLB players [such as former UMaine and San Francisco Giants pitcher Billy Swift] we’ve had at our school and for us to be the first to really do it, it feels so amazing,” said South Portland center fielder Bradley McMains, one of seven seniors on the roster. South Portland ended its season with a 16-5 record while Bangor, which was bidding for a sixth state title in the last seven years high school baseball has been played in the state, finished 14-7. “It’s a state championship game and it’s going to come down to some inches,” Bangor coach Dave Morris said.