Louie Distasio threw a two-hit shutout, and his Yarmouth Little League team used a trio of two-run rallies to defeat Saco/Maremont Little League, 6-0, in the Maine state tournament championship game at the Down East Family YMCA Little League's Demeyer Field Complex in Ellsworth.

With the win, Yarmouth won its first-ever Maine state championship in the major baseball division, and advanced to the New England Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.

Distasio struck out seven batters and walked one to earn his second victory of the tournament. He had allowed only one run in Yarmouth's 6-1 victory over Elliot Avenue Little League on the tournament's opening day.

Yarmouth opened the championship game scoring in the second inning. John Britten led off with an infield single, and Ryan Cody walked before both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Dustin McGrossin then poked an opposite field single past the third baseman to drive in one run, and Marshall Brunelle doubled off the center field fence to score another.

Yarmouth capitalized on a pair of errors to double the lead in the third. Harry Ridge drew a leadoff walk, then Nick Melville singled to right field. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Ridge headed for the plate on an error following the pitch. Melville advanced to third on the play, and later scored on an errant pickoff attempt.

In the fourth, Nate Pingatore's solo home run pushed the lead to 5-0, then Distasio doubled before scoring when the ball went out of play following a wild pitch.

Saco/Maremont pitcher Liam Hobbins struck out eleven and allowed six hits.

Yarmouth had previously reached the state tournament on just two occasions, including a 3-2 loss in the 1988 state championship game to Saco/Maremont.

Yarmouth registered four shutouts and outscored five opponents by a 37-2 margin in the District 6 tournament, then won all five of its round robin games in the state tournament. Distasio scattered five hits and allowed only a fifth inning run in the rain-shortened opening round win over Elliot Avenue. Ridge gave Yarmouth an early lead with a three-run homer in the first inning, then added a solo shot later in the game. Campbell Haley doubled and singled, while Distasio singled twice in the victory.

The next day, Distasio and Haley both homered, and Yarmouth scored in each of the game's first four innings in a 10-3 victory over Waldoboro Little League. Waldoboro managed only two hits against Ridge and Haley, the two Yarmouth pitchers, but used them to take a brief 3-2 lead in the top of the third. Catcher Shane Osier delivered the first hit, launching a two-run home run before pitcher Buddy Simmons followed with a solo shot. Yarmouth reclaimed the lead with four runs in the fourth and added four more in the next inning to secure their second win.

Yarmouth used a similar approach the next day, pocketing a 9-3 victory over Bucksport Little League. Distasio drove a solo home run in the first inning, and Yarmouth led 2-0 in the second when Bucksport's Cody Davis tied the game with a two-run homer. Yarmouth snapped the tie in the fourth, scoring four runs before adding three more in the fifth to seal the win. Haley, who scattered seven hits in a complete game effort, belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, while Melville (three singles) and Ridge (two singles) helped pace Yarmouth's eleven hit attack.

Saco/Maremont also opened the tournament with a string of victories, including a 9-0 shutout of Bangor West Side in the opening round. Hobbins fanned fourteen batters and allowed just one hit, while helping Saco's thirteen hit attack with a two-run home run. Ryan Locke singled twice and broke the game open with a grand slam home run in the fifth inning.

After a win over Bucksport -- Saco/Maremont opened up a 7-0 second inning lead en route to a 13-9 victory -- the District 4 champions edged Elliot Avenue, 4-3. Saco trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning before C.J. Maksut doubled in a pair of runs to push his team into the lead.

Both Yarmouth and Saco/Maremont secured championship game berths by winning their fourth round games. Saco was the first to clinch, capitalizing on seven Waldoboro errors and scoring multiple runs in each of their three offensive innings in a four inning, 12-1 victory. Yarmouth soon did the same, tallying fourteen hits and riding Ridge's complete game four-hitter to a 14-3 victory over Bangor West Side.

The two undefeated teams then met in a meaningless closer to the round robin schedule, which Yarmouth won 12-2. Distasio paced Yarmouth's twelve hit attack with a grand slam home run and RBI single, while Haley and Pingitore also homered for the District 6 champions.