The regular season is finished, and Class D North baseball now belongs to the bracket.

Fort Fairfield leads the way for The County after completing a perfect 14-0 regular season and earning the No. 1 seed. Katahdin also gets a direct trip to the quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed after finishing 12-2.

The rest of the County field gets started in the preliminary round, with Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook, Hodgdon, Wisdom, Madawaska and Southern Aroostook all opening tournament play Tuesday.

Class D North Baseball Seeds

Fort Fairfield, 14-0
Bangor Christian, 13-3
Katahdin, 12-2
Stearns, 12-4
Penobscot Valley, 9-5
Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook, 7-7
Hodgdon, 7-7
Wisdom, 5-9
Schenck, 7-7
Madawaska, 4-10
Machias, 7-7
Southern Aroostook, 5-9

Preliminary Round: Tuesday

Seeds 5 through 12 will play in the preliminary round.

No. 5 Penobscot Valley vs. No. 12 Southern Aroostook

No. 6 Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook vs. No. 11 Machias

No. 7 Hodgdon vs. No. 10 Madawaska

No. 8 Wisdom vs. No. 9 Schenck

Quarterfinal Round: Thursday

Seeds 1 through 4 move directly to the quarterfinals.

No. 1 Fort Fairfield vs. Winner of No. 8 Wisdom/No. 9 Schenck

No. 4 Stearns vs. Winner of No. 5 Penobscot Valley/No. 12 Southern Aroostook

No. 3 Katahdin vs. Winner of No. 6 Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook/No. 11 Machias

No. 2 Bangor Christian vs. Winner of No. 7 Hodgdon/No. 10 Madawaska

Fort Fairfield Enters As The Team To Catch

Fort Fairfield enters the tournament as the top seed in Class D North after finishing the regular season 14-0.

The Tigers closed the regular season with a 10-0 win over Katahdin, with Jonah LeBlanc firing a five-inning one-hitter and striking out 11. Eric Helstrom went 2-for-2 with 2 RBIs in that game, while Levi Cole added a solo home run.

Fort Fairfield has had pitching, defense and offense throughout the season.

LeBlanc has been one of the top arms in The County, including a 7 and 2/3 inning outing earlier in the season where he allowed only one run and struck out 14 in a 2-1, nine-inning win.

The Tigers have also gotten strong production from Cayden Ala, Graedon King, Jacob Edgecomb, Charlie Griffeth, Levi Cole and Helstrom.

Ala had a four-inning perfect outing earlier this spring, striking out nine. Edgecomb also delivered one of the biggest moments of the regular season with a walk-off bunt single in the ninth inning.

A perfect regular season does not win a tournament by itself, but Fort Fairfield has been the standard in Class D North all spring.

Katahdin Waits In The Quarterfinals

Katahdin earned the No. 3 seed after a 12-2 regular season.

The Cougars lost only to Fort Fairfield, and they have had one of the deeper offensive groups in the class.

Conor Schmidt has been one of Katahdin’s biggest run producers. During the final stretch of the season, Schmidt went 3-for-4 with two triples and 5 RBIs in one game, then added two hits and 2 RBIs in another. He also had two hits and scored three times in another win.

Calvin Richardson, Bradley Swallow, Wyatt Pipes, Addison Young, Chandler Libby and Matthew Keim have all contributed throughout the season.

Richardson has been strong both on the mound and at the plate, including a seven-strikeout pitching performance and several multi-hit games. Swallow has also had multiple big games, including a 3-for-4 afternoon earlier in the season.

The Cougars did not get the regular-season finish they wanted against Fort Fairfield, but a 12-win season and a direct trip to the quarterfinals put Katahdin in a strong position.

Katahdin will face the winner of No. 6 Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook and No. 11 Machias on Thursday.

Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook Gets A Home Prelim

Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook enters as the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 Machias in Tuesday’s preliminary round.

The Beavers closed the regular season with a 4-3 win over Madawaska in a game with playoff seeding implications.

Brayden Barnard pitched six innings and struck out six, while Landon Markie’s RBI groundout in the fifth inning proved to be the difference. Tommy King came on in the seventh and retired the side in order to close it out.

Tommy King, Jensen Bell, Miles Tate, Isaiah Dumont, Avery Nadeau and Collin McCrum have all been part of Washburn’s offensive production this season.

King has also had a strong two-way stretch, including a 7-for-11 week at the plate with 3 RBIs and 3 walks, while also throwing 6 and 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts over two appearances.

In tournament baseball, being able to win a close game matters. The Beavers have shown they can do that.

Hodgdon Hosts Madawaska In A County Prelim

Hodgdon enters as the No. 7 seed and will host No. 10 Madawaska in one of the County matchups of the preliminary round.

The Hawks finished 7-7 and have shown plenty of offense during the season.

Michael Fitzpatrick has been one of Hodgdon’s top all-around players. He had a 3-for-3 game with 4 RBIs and four runs scored earlier this spring, while also pitching four innings and striking out nine.

Dan Henderson, Finn Gardiner, Jacob Tuttle, Landon Botting, Mason Polchies, Cam Hannigan and Noah Arbab have all shown up in County Scoreboard recaps with key hits and run production.

Madawaska comes in at 4-10 but has shown it can compete in close games.

The Owls have been led at different points by Isaac Beaulieu, Matt Ayotte, Ian Albert, Carter Guerrette, Ashton Guerrette and Josh Querze.

Beaulieu had a complete-game outing with 12 strikeouts earlier this season, and Madawaska’s offense has had strong games as well, including a win where Ian Albert drove in 4 and Carter Guerrette added three hits and 3 RBIs.

The winner will advance to face No. 2 Bangor Christian in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Wisdom Opens Against Schenck

Wisdom enters as the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Schenck in the preliminary round.

The Pioneers finished 5-9, but they had several strong offensive games and enough late-inning fight to be dangerous in a one-game setting.

Wisdom has gotten production from Joel Desjardins, James Desjardins, Preston Lavoie, Sam Tardif, Tanner Marquis, Chris Babin, Kamden Daigle and Alex Bebout.

Joel Desjardins had several big moments this season, including a late-game RBI single to keep Wisdom alive in an extra-inning win. Preston Lavoie also had a 3-for-3 game with 2 RBIs, while Tanner Marquis added multi-hit production in another win.

The winner of Wisdom and Schenck gets top-seeded Fort Fairfield in the quarterfinals.

Southern Aroostook Goes On The Road

Southern Aroostook enters as the No. 12 seed and will travel to No. 5 Penobscot Valley for Tuesday’s preliminary round.

The Warriors finished 5-9 and had several strong offensive performances during the season.

Dikki Chambers, Shawn Chambers, Jakoby Porter, Dillan Bishop, Zach Lilley, Connor Lane and Shawn Grass have all had key games for Southern Aroostook.

Zach Lilley went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs late in the season, while Dikki Chambers added three hits in the same game. Bishop also had a 3-for-4 game with 3 RBIs earlier this spring.

Southern Aroostook will have to win on the road to keep its season alive, but the Warriors have enough offensive pieces to make the prelim interesting.

The Bracket Is Set

The Class D North field has a heavy County feel.

Fort Fairfield is unbeaten and sits at the top. Katahdin is 12-2 and waits in the quarterfinals. Washburn/Easton/Central Aroostook, Hodgdon and Wisdom all earned home preliminary games. Madawaska and Southern Aroostook will try to extend their seasons on the road.

Now, every game decides who keeps playing.

Preliminary games are scheduled for Tuesday, with quarterfinal matchups set for Thursday.