Marshwood baseball honors 1984 Class B state championship team

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine - Former Marshwood High School baseball head coach Mike Lewis guesses the Hawks were the 'big bump' in the road during the team's magical Class B tournament in 1984.

Lewis remembers getting phone calls from numerous coaches around Eastern Maine during the season telling him the Hawks weren't going to get through then-powerhouses Cape Elizabeth and defending state champion Ellsworth High School in the Class B playoffs, saying the Hawks would just be a 'bump in the road.'

Marshwood ended up facing Ellsworth in the championship game and came away victorious, 10-0.

"I guess we were the big bump," Lewis said.

Champions honored before game against Noble

The resiliency, toughness and togetherness of that 1984 team - the first and only Marshwood baseball team to win a state championship - was recognized on Saturday morning prior to the Hawks' Class A showdown with neighboring rival Noble.

All but one member from the 1994 championship team, Peter Carlberg, was in attendance for the long-awaited celebration. The team spent about an hour before Saturday's game greeting and mingling with Marshwood alumni, current players and even a variety of numerous youth baseball teams.

Members in attendance from that 1984 team included Chris Parkin, Eric Fernandes, Rheinhold Holton, Keith Barron, Don Webber, Brian Lanouette, Marc Schoff, Peter Thompson, Chris Ragno, Peter Carlberg, James Baker, Scott Schnobrich, James Wright, Corey Huntress and Bryan Lyman.

The team was honored pregame, coming onto the field through two parallel lines of current players by the dugout. Coach Lewis and a few of the players spoke to the crowd, and then there was a ceremonial group pitch from the 1984 team to this year's team.

Team 'talks for hours' when reunited Friday

Holton, a right-handed senior pitcher on the 1984 championship team, said it was fun to share the field again with his former teammates.

"We met (Friday) night and we talked for hours," Holton said. "It was just like we were back here 40 years ago."

Holton recalled the bittersweet bus ride home following the win over Ellsworth.

"The bus ride home, realizing that we weren't going to play again (was tough)," Holton said. "That was a great day, and a sad moment. What were we going to do? We weren't going to go to another practice, and we weren't going to go to another game."

But being able to bring those core and celebrated memories back to the forefront and be back at the alma mater on Saturday - 40 years later - was something that former third baseman Marc Schoff said was "really special."

"Getting to see some people that you haven't seen in a really long time (was great)," Schoff said. "Forty years is a really, really long time. Just the fact that we can all come together, and we were all able to walk out on the field, was good. It was just a really special day."

Brian Lyman was a shortstop on the championship team. He said everyone went their separate ways after graduation and that he hadn't seen a lot of his teammates in 40 years.

"Good to see Coach (Lewis)," Lyman said. "A great celebration, very appreciative of it."

Marshwood sends everyone home happy with win

The Hawks allowed runs in the first inning, but shook off the early jitters and took a 5-2 advantage after the fourth and led 6-2 after five.

Noble scored three runs in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-5, but Marshwood responded with a six-run sixth and walked off with a 12-5 win.

"It was a big celebration for the community celebrating the 1984 team," Marshwood head coach Eric Wells said. "It's like a Homecoming in football, the other team is going to come out and try to ruin that celebration. Once we stopped the bleeding, I knew we were going to be OK, and a win is a win is a win."

These Hawks led the way

Marshwood starter Ronan Garrett went 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits, walking three and striking out three.

"It's really important coming out here in front of a huge crowd (and getting a win)," said Ronan Casey, who had a hit and scored a run.

Riley Parnham had a team-high three hits and an RBI, Liam Tiernan had two hits and an RBI, and Ronan Garrett had two hits, and three RBIs.

Silas Reimels (hit, two RBIs), Sam Gennaro (two hits, two RBIs), and Evin Aceto (hit, two RBIs) led the offense.

"We've got to keep the bats going, that's a really important part," Parnham said.

What it takes to be a champion ...

"As a coach, you're not just coaching baseball, you're coaching about life," Lewis said. "And that was something that (team) understood. They learned how to win and they knew what to do to make that happen. They all accepted their roles and played together. We never talked about our best player, it was never about them, it was always about the team, and that's how we did it."

Holton said "you've got to all drink the Kool-Aid."

"You all have to know your role and you've got to play your position," Holton said.

Wells, with the Hawks now at 7-1, said adding to the championship room has been something that has been talked about for years.

"We learned it's really about the journey of it all," Parnham said of learning from the 1984 team. "It's a family. The mindset we've had for the last three or four years is just family, and (that 1984 team) reiterated that as well."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marshwood baseball honors 1984 Class B state championship team