Nobody knew quite what to expect from the Boothbay Region Dead River baseball team in its first season in the Lincoln Little League. But it’s safe to say any expectations were wildly exceeded.

Boothbay upset the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the playoffs and then very nearly captured the league championship in Nobleboro on Saturday, dropping a 3-2 heart-stopper to undefeated Legion of Damariscotta.

“It’s too bad we couldn’t have pulled it off,” said Boothbay Manager Gary Barter, who coached the team with Mike Taylor and Trevor Swope. “I don’t even think we gave up any hits in the game.”

The closest thing to a hit Boothbay gave up was a slow dribbler to third that Matthew Sullivan charged and threw home trying to cut down the tying run at the plate in the fifth inning.

Legion is normally an offensive juggernaut, having pummeled its most recent playoff opponent, 16-0. But left-handed starting pitcher Will Perkins was laser-focused and dominant, striking out 10 through the first four innings.

“The coaches and I had chills watching him,” said Barter. “He was really dealing. It was incredibly fun to watch.”

Boothbay scored first in top of the second inning when Perkins led off with a single, stole second and then went to third on an errant throw. Moments later, he scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

Boothbay added a run in the third when Ashton McLellan singled up the middle, causing an abrupt change of pitchers for Legion. A couple of walks were sandwiched around a force play at third base, and Sullivan scored Boothbay’s second run on a wild pitch.

“We told them to always take the extra base when they can,” said Taylor. “That turned out to make a big difference for us at the end of the season.”

Perkins ran into some control issues in the fifth inning as he neared his mandatory 85-pitch limit. He issued two walks, and both runners eventually scored to tie the game, 2-2.

Boothbay had a great opportunity to retake the lead in the top of the sixth and final inning. Perkins, who had smashed a hard grounder through the second baseman, stole second and was awarded third base on an obstruction ruling.

With two out and in grave danger of being stranded at third base, Perkins took a calculated risk by attempting to steal home on a throw back from the catcher. Though he appeared to slide under the tag, Perkins was called out to end the inning.

Legion went on to push the winning run across the bottom half of the inning in walk-off fashion when a ball eluded the catcher, allowing the winning run to score from third base.

“I’m really impressed with the job Boothbay did their first year in the league,” said veteran Legion Coach Alan Tomasello. “They are a very well-coached team, and it was a joy to be in a baseball game with them like that.”

When the playoffs began five days earlier, making the championship seemed nearly impossible and certainly had zero chance of happening without a significant contribution from every player on the roster.

Boothbay was known for being a very scrappy and competitive bunch, but the team recorded only two victories and finished in seventh place during the regular season.

“I told the kids we didn’t care how many games they won during the regular season because it’s a whole different ballgame once the playoffs start,” Barter said. “By then, they were really starting to get it.”

The playoff opener was against No. 2 seed Damariscotta Wheels and former Edgecomb Eddy School student Adam Sirois, who had been nationally recognized for his 85-pitch perfect game just a month ago.

Translation: An almost certain “one-and-done” for Boothbay.

But Damariscotta chose not to start Sirois, and by the time he eventually took the mound, his team was already down 5-0 in the second inning. Jordan Carrier, Sam Page and Jameson LaBrecque all supplied big hits in that Boothbay surge.

While Boothbay starting pitcher Owen Barter kept the Wheels line-up off-balance, Boothbay’s offense seemed to take advantage of each and every scoring opportunity.

Boothbay rallied for 5 more runs in the top of the fifth inning, highlighted by speedy Grant Swope diving “Pedroia-like” under the first baseman’s tag halfway up the baseline on a slow roller and beating everyone else to the first base bag.

Despite a long home run by Sirois in the final inning, Boothbay held on for an improbable 11-7 upset playoff victory.

There wasn’t much time for the team to savor that big upset victory, though, as Boothbay had to travel to Pemaquid Field the very next night to face the third-place Lions.

Again, Boothbay unexpectedly jumped out to an early lead, and pitchers Sullivan and Page combined to tame the Lions over the first four innings.

But the Lions came roaring back in the fifth inning, and Boothbay trailed heading into its final at-bats.

In the sixth and final inning, Boothbay quickly got a couple of base-runners on and Sullivan tied the game by singling home LaBrecque. Barter then blasted a deep fly ball into the dense Pemaquid fog that was somehow caught for an out, but it knocked in what would prove to be the winning run from third base on a sacrifice fly.

When Perkins followed with a home run to left and Fox Elder later stole home, Boothbay had the insurance runs it needed. Carrier calmly closed that game out by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the sixth inning to complete Boothbay’s second upset victory in as many nights, 17-14.

That set the stage for Saturday’s dramatic championship game.

“They came a long way and it was really gratifying to see them put it all together,” Taylor said about the remarkable playoff run.

The coaches are already making plans to get back to next year’s championship game, and think they have to pieces in place to win it next time.

“I hope this generates more interest both for our team next year and in the elementary school,” said Barter. “We really want to move forward with what we have and build on it.”