Ellsworth was trailing by one run and on its last out of the game when Hunter Curtis stepped up to the plate.
With a state championship on the line, Curtis hit the ball to center field and an error allowed two runs to score, securing a 3-2 win for the Eagles who captured the Class B title Saturday at Flaherty Field on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.
The state title is the fifth for Ellsworth since 1970, following previous championships in 1983, 1987, 1988 and 2019, when the Eagles defeated Freeport 2-0 in the final. Coach Dan Curtis’ Eagles finished this season with a 19-1 record.
Freeport, in search of its first state title in baseball and making its third straight appearance in the Class B state final, ended its season with a 16-5 record.
Freeport scored the first two runs of the game, and the only runs prior to Ellsworth’s seventh inning heroics.
Ellsworth’s Craig Burnett led off the top of the seventh inning, and was struck out by Freeport’s Nathan Abbott.
Michael Palmer then singled into shallow right field to reach first.
Dan Howie, the second baseman, grounded the ball to the Freeport shortstop, who bobbled the ball. The error allowed Michael Palmer to reach second and Howie to take first.
It was the second error of the game for the Falcons.
Howie was lifted for a pinch runner at first base, and Miles Palmer hit a ground ball at the first baseman who committed an error on the play, allowing Michael Palmer to score.
Brady Kenny struck out looking for the second out of the inning.
Curtis, who had a single and two fly outs earlier in the game, then belted the ball into center field and two runs scored on the hit and error.
Freeport was unable to respond in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Ellsworth, which reached the Class B North final last spring before being defeated by eventual state champion Old Town, led the division’s Heal points for most of the regular season
The Eagles won their first seven games this spring before suffering their only loss, a 5-3 decision at Class A Brewer on May 11.
Ellsworth defeated the Witches 7-0 the next day, marking the start of its current 11-game winning streak.
That includes three North regional postseason victories, a 3-0 quarterfinal decision over No. 9 Hermon followed by two late-game come-from-behind wins, a 3-2 semifinal survival of No. 4 Lawrence of Fairfield and a 3-2 championship-game win over No. 2 Old Town.
Freeport finished third in the final Class B South Heal points with its 12-4 record behind No. 1 Greely of Cumberland Center and No. 2 Erskine Academy of South China.
The Falcons then advanced through the South regional, first by escaping No. 14 Gray-New Gloucester 2-1 in the Round of 16.
Freeport defeated No. 6 York 3-0 in the quarterfinals, followed by a 5-0 semifinal win over No. 15 Lake Region of Naples before the Falcons upended Greely in the regional final for the second straight year, avenging 11-0 and 10-0 regular-season losses this spring with a 2-1 victory over the Rangers.
