McClelland Miscellanea

September 3, 2022 · 3:16 pm

Lake Region defeats Fryeburg Academy 1-0 in girls soccer

Margo Tremblay lines up a direct free kick

(Fryeburg) Sometimes the coach knows best.

It seemed to work out that way in Friday afternoon’s girls soccer game between Lake Region and Fryeburg Academy.

The Lakers won the game 1-0.

Margo Tremblay scored the eventual game-winner on a direct free kick with less than three minutes left in the first half.

“The girls wanted to run a play that we’ve been working on,” said LR coach Peter Webb afterwards. “It’s a side play that goes around the wall. They looked at me and I said, ‘Put it on net,’ because Margo (Tremblay) can put it there every time.”

Margo’s shot turned out to be quite remarkable. She chipped the ball over the Raiders wall and it hit the under part of the crossbar behind FA goalie Maya Meehan. Down the ball went from there and into the net behind Maya.

“Coach (Webb) said at halftime that he thought I could make it so that’s why he had me take it,” explained Margo post-game.

Aside from Margo’s goal, the home team Raiders had the best scoring chances.

“I think that they had only one good shot on goal,” said FA coach Dave Hart afterwards, “and that was the one that went in.”

This was the season opener for both teams.

The weather was “typical” early fall Maine weather…….40’s when you wake up and in the 70’s in the afternoon when you’re playing/watching a soccer game.

Both coaches substituted freely because of the heat. There were several moments of confusion as players acclimated themselves to new positions.

“We were in a lot of positions we aren’t normally in,” said Margo, “so it was hard adjusting.”

“We got tired, and people got out of position,” said Coach Webb. “We had people in positions they weren’t used to.”

Hard-luck FA had the best chances to get on the board. Their golden opportunities fell short because of LR goalie Emily Rock, the goal frames, and in-front misfires.

“Their goalie has good hands,” said FA coach Dave Hart. “She made it harder for us today.”

“We did have some good shots,” he added. “Some off the frame. Some off the posts.”

“The posts helped me once or twice,” said Lake Region goalie Emily Rock with a smile afterwards. “Sometimes they helped a lot!”

Both coaches commended the efforts of their respective teams.

“Overall, we’re happy with our first performance,” said Coach Hart.

“The effort was there,” said Coach Webb. “We’ve only had a couple of preseason games to work with.”

Emily Rock: “I love being in goal. I appreciate my field players so much. I’m a very vocal goalie, I’d say. Kaylie Goodwin has the best touch on the ball and she’s only a sophomore. I plan to play softball in college in state for the in-state tuition. If someone wanted me to play soccer, however, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Coach Webb: “Emily is a senior. She is solid and she kept us in this game today.”

Margo Tremblay: “Emily is amazing. She’s the whole reason we do good. She always has the most positive attitude which really helps us in the games.”

(I am working these days as a MaxPreps photographer. I took plenty of pictures from today’s game that aren’t in this blog entry. They will be posted eventually in the MaxPreps section for both schools. Check them out. I am also on Instagram (McClelland Miscellanea). Some of the pictures on this blog will be directed to players on that site.)

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Tagged as Coach Dave Hart, Coach Peter Webb, Emily Rock, Kaylie Goodwin, Margo Tremblay

August 29, 2022 · 10:07 pm

Cole Butcher raises ruckus with Oxford 250 win

Johnny Clark spins out as Cole Butcher gets the lead with eight laps left

(Oxford) It wasn’t at the “Let’s go, Brandon” level but it was in the neighborhood.

The 49^th annual Oxford 250 ended, and the boos descended.

The subject of the OPS spectators’ attention was young Cole Butcher who had just won the Oxford 250 on Sunday night.

As one of the regulars on the OPS track told me, “The winner should be proud of winning but not of how he won it.”

Most of the unhappiness was centered around an incident with eight laps left.

Crowd favorite, and former 250 winner, Johnny Clark had the lead with Cole Butcher close behind. Johnny came up on a lapped car driven by Jimmy Hebert and slowed down to avoid hitting Jimmy.

Cole did not slow down and got into the back of Johnny’s car enough to start him spinning toward the infield. With Johnny suddenly out of control, Cole, Gabe Brown, and Eddie MacDonald went past him.

Johnny settled back to 4^th and that was where he finished.

Johnny took out his frustration on Cole after the race. Cole parked on Victory Lane, but Johnny drove into Cole’s car and moved him off Victory Lane.

Things didn’t progress to the next level but there were plenty of angry words tossed around.

Interviewed afterwards Cole said, “I had nowhere to go. I didn’t want that to happen, that’s not how I race.”

Cole, from Hantsport, Nova Scotia, has raced multiple times at Oxford. It will be interesting to see how his next visit goes.

That ending “stuff” spoiled what was a great night of racing. There was a great crowd and plenty of action to get excited about.

There were nineteen cautions and what is more exciting than a restart?

How about a caution with only two laps left??

It was a two-lap race for the championship

That’s what we had last night. That final restart gave Gabe Brown and Eddie MacDonald a chance to move by Cole Butcher, but they couldn’t do it.

“I knew that we didn’t have anything for the lead,” explained Eddie MacDonald (second) afterwards. “That 53 was fast. Whoever had the outside was going to end up third.”

“I was sideways the whole time around,” recalled Gabe Brown (third). “I just had to get to the bottom as soon as I could.”

While the two challengers struggled, Cole had what was needed for the victory.

The beauty of the longer race was that drivers had the time to recover from early problems. Eddie MacDonald pitted early because of a flat tire while Gabe Brown went into position-losing spins twice in the first twenty laps.

Both drivers rallied to get back on the lead lap and went from there to top three finishes.

Despite all the cautions and collisions there were no medical situations.

There were several damaged cars that were brought back to life thanks to some great pit-crew work.

Max Cookson was the 19-year-old in the field. Max said that his crew was “unbelievable” and “it was awesome to be out there in such a big race.” Max took the lead on Lap 81.

The restarts are treacherous for the leader because all of their competition is suddenly close by.

However, when there aren’t restarts the leader must deal with lapped cars. Where is the lapped car supposed to go? On a track as slick as OPS has been, moving up the track is a slide waiting to happen.

In the Clark/Butcher collision on Lap 242, the lap car was on the bottom. There was room for Johnny Clark to go around the lapped car, but he closed so fast on the lapped car (which was going slower than he had expected) that he had to slow up. Cole Butcher wasn’t ready for the slow down and went into the Clark car full speed causing it to spin.

There was plenty of sunshine, but the shade was welcomed as the race got underway.

It was good to see so many spectators at OPS. In most of the regular weekly races there often seem to be more folks in the pit grandstand than across the way.

Thanks to the Mayberry’s for allowing me to check out the racing action.

Johnny Clark leads with Cole Butcher close behind

Joe Pastore, Curtis Gerry, Trevor Sanborn, Joey Doiron

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August 25, 2022 · 6:19 pm

Preview of the 49th Oxford Plains Speedway 250

Cassius Clark’s winning car from last year

(Oxford) Go ahead, try to predict the outcome of Sunday’s 49^th annual Oxford 250. (I will at the end of this entry.)

On Thursday afternoon, the OPS track owner (Tom Mayberry) and a collection of race entrants gathered on the track ahead of the Oxford 250.

OPS owner Tom Mayberry with Mike and Ben Rowe

Three tents were set up on the edge of the track for the purpose of lessening the heat for the projected warm afternoon.

Just as the proceedings were set to begin, the rains came. Instead of the heat it was the down-coming water that the tents deflected.

Tom Mayberry laughed and said, “We could have been inside but there was 0% chance of rain.”

The unpredictable weather in these parts and projecting the OPS 250 winner on Sunday night are certainly similar: No one really knows for sure how things will go.

I had the chance to discuss the upcoming race with seven drivers on Media Day: Cassius Clark, Eddie MacDonald, Johnny Clark, DJ Shaw, Gabe Brown, Max Cookson, and Bubba Pollard.

Some of the OPS drivers I interviewed today

Owner Tom Mayberry said he expects sixty+ drivers to try to qualify and have forty-two drivers in the race.

Below is a selection of quotes from each of the drivers.

CASSIUS CLARK – “I haven’t raced since last year’s 250. I did attend a race but sat in the grandstands. I’ve had my fair amount of laps around this place. It hasn’t changed. It’s still a big circle. Just planning to get back in the car and go. We’ll have plenty of practice this weekend. I never watched last year’s race. I did see the highlights on TV. I haven’t thought too much about racing but when I walk though the kitchen in my house, I can see the trophy sitting on the mantle. It’s a good memory. (Regarding Curtis Geary’s bumping on the final corner) We kind of expected someone to get into the back of us there. I was prepared for it. I slowed my pace down a little anticipating getting run into. I didn’t want to get knocked off the bottom there. He was going to have to do a lot more bumping to get by me through there. I haven’t seen any of the guys since last year. The car hasn’t raced since last year.”

EDDIE MACDONALD – “We switched cars up last week. There are a lot of good guys here. This is always a tough race. Everything must work out for you. It’s a lot of fun up there in the upper groove when the car handles right. Last year we ended pitting for four new tires near the end. With 50-60 laps left we had the lead but then we ended up getting spun out going around a lap car. Hopefully on Sunday we’ll be there at the end and have a shot at winning.”

JOHNNY CLARK – “Hoping for a little better than last year. You try to put yourself in a position where good things can happen. We want to be in the top five near the end with a shot at it. Last year we were too tight on the last set of tires. We would have been better off to have left them alone. You don’t know if it will be a long-run race or a short-run race.”

DJ SHAW – “We won the last race here a couple of weeks ago. I was running 17^th through forty laps and then the car decided to take off. I’m not usually too good driving on the ‘Angels’ Express’. The main goal in going higher is not to lose out there. We did everything wrong all day last year. We pitted at the wrong time and then didn’t have fresher tires than the people in front of us. We got caught up in a skirmish and just decided to park it. Hopefully we’ll improve and get back to the previous year. This is the best momentum I’ve had going into this race. There are too many guys who have a shot to feel confident that you can win.”

GABE BROWN – “Luckily, we’ve gotten in on a provisional. I think this year we’ve actually got a car that can make the race and be competitive. In 2018 I raced here weekly and ran up front every week. We then struggled in the PASS races with the same car and against the same people. This place changes so much but that is the character of it. I think that we have a better handle on it this year.”

MAX COOKSON – “It’s a pretty cool feeling to be in the race. I’ve watched all the races forever. I’ve watched the races online, picking them apart. I admire Bubba (Pollard). He’s won everything from here to California. I want to do what he’s doing. We have the car. We need to stay patient. We’ve got to complete all 250 laps. We’re putting a crew together. I have a lot of people involved from my hometown. Some have never been to a racetrack before. We’ve had them over practicing pit stops.”

BUBBA POLLARD – “What keeps me coming back (from Georgia) is the atmosphere, history, and the fans. You look around and see all the campers and fans. We had great success a couple of years ago. We want to get our ducks in a row and our feet back on the ground. We didn’t qualify last year so we started 40^th. We were able to drive up toward the front and have a top ten race car. Hopefully, we can build on notes we took from last year. The first year here we came in not knowing what to expect. We didn’t know how the racetrack changed. We ended up winning. I believe that the last few years we’ve been overthinking it.”

I put this at the bottom because how many readers will actually read this far? I am about to make my predictions.

I believe that the winner’s last name will be “Clark.” It could be Cassius again or it could be Johnny.

Cassius won last year. His car is well rested and so is he. He has finished in the top eight in six of the last eight years.

Johnny won in 2020. He has the best record of anyone over the past three years never finishing lower than fifth.

Those two are my favorites but I must give consideration to several others in the field.

Derek Griffith finished 3^rd last year and 2^nd in 2019.

Curtis Geary was a close 2^nd last year.

Joey Doiron finished 5^th or better in three of the last four years.

DJ Shaw finished 6^th or better in three of the last four years.

Trevor Sanborn has been excellent at OPS this year and finished 8^th in the last two 250s.

Dave Farrington has been in the top eighteen for five straight years.

Brandon Barker has been in the top nineteen for four years in a row.

Ben Ashline has top-thirteen finishes the last three years.

Plenty of possibilities with very little certainly. Could make for a very exciting Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway.

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Filed under Oxford, Oxford 250, Oxford Plains Speedway

Tagged as Bubba Pollard, Cassius Clark, DJ Shaw, Eddie MacDonald, Gabe Brown, Johnny Clark, Max Cookson

August 8, 2022 · 6:43 pm

Erie wins heat battle 6-4 vs Portland

Quincy Nieporte homered twice for the Erie Seawolves

(Portland) You want hot?

That was Hadlock Field Sunday afternoon during the end-of-series Eastern League game between Portland and Erie.

The temperatures were in the 90’s and there were plenty of very warm empty metal seats.

The Sea Dogs dropped the game, 6-4, as their relief pitching betrayed them. Sounds like a certain major league team south of here, doesn’t it.

I was planning to get my first look at two newcomers to Portland: Ceddane Rafaela and Nick Northcut. I also wanted another look at the Eastern League’s top base stealer, David Hamilton.

None of them were in the starting lineup!

But I knew them by number and figured out which ones they were as they sat in the dugout. I probably got better shots of them in the dugout than I would have in the field.

It was the last game of a six-game series so I shouldn’t have been surprised by some backups getting some playing time.

Pitcher Ty Madden made his AA debut for Erie. Ty was drafted in the first round by the Tigers last year.

Ty went 4 2/3 innings before being pulled. He gave up three earned runs, on four hits including two homers. He did strike out six Sea Dogs.

Catcher Stephen Scott went deep for the Sea Dogs as did Izzy Wilson. I was interested in how the home team would celebrate the homer in the Portland dugout. What they did was teammates put a UMass football helmet on Stephen as he entered the dugout which he wore as he worked his way thought the dugout.

Quincy Nieporte homered twice for Erie. His homers in the 7^th and 8^th innings were responsible for the two-run separation at the game’s end.

Quincy (27) was one of those fill-the-roster older players given, in this case, a chance to compete by Detroit. He has run with the opportunity currently leading the EL in homers (26) and RBI (69).

Quincy was up early in this game with the bases loaded and two outs and sent Portland LF Wil Dalton to the warning track. Later in the game, the Sea Dogs weren’t as lucky!

Christian Koss has been Portland’s best player this season. His numbers get your attention. He leads the team in five offensive categories. The 24-year-old is an infielder who can hit. I would expect him to get promoted to Worcester (AAA) soon. He’s earned it.

Had trouble figuring out Slugger today. Was he a prince or a princess? The Sleeping Beauty routine would suggest princess, at least for this afternoon.

In the race with the youngster, Slugger was in costume wearing a skirt. I promise you; you can’t do your best running when you’re encumbered with a bulky outfit. The race today was never close. Once they passed second base, the kid was long gone. Slugger, as he sometimes does, took a very wide turn between second and first, and gave the outcome away entirely in the process.

How can Slugger be competitive in that outfit?

Slugger, however, does seem to be in good shape, so a win in the future is possible. However, he can’t show up in a bulky costume and expect much.

I got into a seat just behind home plate and the backstop to get some shots of Ty Madden. Those metal seats were nearly at the “grill” level! I was wearing long pants, thankfully.

Ty Madden made his first AA start. Detroit picked him in the first round last year

I met an adult male on the elevator coming down from the sky-view seats. He was wearing a baseball glove and I asked him how that had worked out for him. I’m thinking he’ll tell me about catching a foul ball. He said he had it to protect his family from foul balls. He reported that someone up there today had gotten hit in the face! There isn’t much of a warning in those foul balls and they come fast.

Couldn’t have been happier afterwards to find a free-sample truck in front of Hadlock Field giving out ice cream sandwiches. Perfect ending to my visit to a Sea Dogs’ game!

Thanks, as always, to Chris Cameron for arranging my visit.

This coming Monday-Sunday will have Richmond at Hadlock. They are in the San Francisco Giants farm system.

The price at Hadlock is always right. Well worth a visit.

Wenceel Perez with Coach Gabe Alvarez in home run trot

Daniel Cabrera after driving in two runs

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August 4, 2022 · 5:52 pm

Ruben Sanca wins YH ten-mile race

(2022 Yankee Homecoming Road Races)

(Newburyport) One runner knew the course.

The other runner didn’t.

Those facts turned out to be significant as Ruben Sanca navigated the familiar (to him) Yankee Homecoming 10-mile course to his third straight victory.

Meanwhile, Ezra Mutai, who finished second, had heard about the course and had seen a video of the route.

The inexperience with the course influenced this excellent runner as he covered the same 10-mile course on Tuesday night.

Ezra, from Springfield and a former student/runner at American International College, took second but it was a distant second.

Ruben finished at 51:02 while Ezra finished at 52:27.

I like to start my race coverage at the one-mile point, which is down near Federal Street.

A look at this picture tells you that Ezra was in the lead at one mile and looking strong.

Ruben and Ezra one mile into the 10-miler

“The early going was good,” Ezra told me post-race.

Ruben was close behind, however, and biding his time. He told the PA announcer afterwards that he just tried methodically to gain a little bit of ground as the race progressed.

Then came the hills.

“Around eight miles it was too hilly,” recalled Ezra. “That was the toughest place. I knew about the hills, but I had never run them.”

Ruben, from Salisbury (MA), often runs the streets of Newburyport and knew what to expect. On those hills was where Ruben took the lead and built on it the rest of the way.

“This was my first 10-mile race,” explained Ezra. “I usually run shorter distances. I’m working toward doing a half marathon.”

Ezra told me that he plans to give the Yankee Homecoming 10-miler another try next year. “Next time I’ll know better what to expect,” he said with a smile.

Women’s ten-mile winner, Emilee Risteen, also had limited knowledge of the course.

“All I knew was that there were hills through the middle,” she said afterwards.

Emilee (Derry NH) started fast and left all her competition in the dust early. There were no women to chase and there were no challengers to worry about.

At one mile, Emilee Risteen is keeping pace with Jack Chambers who finished 6th overall

Emilee (1:03.10) crossed with a time of 1:03.10., four minutes ahead of Beth Dollas (Amesbury) who finished second.

Emilee Risteen wins the women’s 10-miler

“I was going for a time,” Emilee said, “but didn’t get it. We’ll just pick it up and keep trying.”

“I learned about Mile Three that I couldn’t go for what I wanted,” she added. “I then had to readjust and play it smart so that I could finish strong.”

Emilee was 11^th overall of 650 runners in the 10-mile event.

Emilee graduated from Moody Bible Institute (Chicago IL) and has been coaching at Concord Christian Academy in New Hampshire.

My strategy of seeing both races one mile into each of them always prevents me from seeing the end of the 5K race.

My positioning, however, allows me to see the leaders of both races about a mile into each race. Almost without fail, the leaders then win the races or come close.

The Walsh brothers (Joseph & Timothy) from Auburn (MA) dominated the 5K race. They were one-two at the one-mile mark.

Joseph Walsh chased by his brother (Timothy) and Justin Freeman in the 5K

Justin Freeman did separate them by the end of the race. Justin won the 10-mile race a few years ago when the end of the race was near the stadium entrance.

Yvonne Bungei and Betsy Suda were close at one mile, but it was Yvonne (18:48) edging Betsy (18:57) for the win in the women’s 5K.

Betsy Suda and Yvonne Bungai after a mile in the 5K

Betsy has been the 5K women’s winner several times. She may have defeated Yvonne in 2019.

The idea of starting the race at 6PM always assumes that things will be cooling down as the race takes place. It never seems to work. As Mark Twain said, “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it!”

Additional pictures from the two races:

Barbara Lopes (Lynnfield) cheers on Ezra and Ruben

Luke Devin (Danvers) and Joe Rand (Haverhill) in the 5K

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July 30, 2022 · 2:19 pm

Breeanna Spaulding wins Ladies Feature

Breeanna Spaulding wins the Ladies Feature

(Oxford) Breeanna Spaulding has won a lot of Ladies Features at Oxford Plains Speedway.

This season the 28-year-old picked up where she left off winning three of the first four races.

But suddenly things changed, and Breeanna hadn’t won in over a month.

However, last night the also-rans ended, and it was time for that long-awaited victory lap.

“I was driving a different car tonight,” said Breeanna after the race. “The other one had been running badly, and we finally found out why. In the hold in the fuel tank there was plastic still in it.”

The different car made last night’s race a pleasant one.

Maddy Herrick and Amara Parker follow Breeanna Spaulding

“It was kind of nice watching them in the mirror,” said Breeanna with a laugh afterwards.

The “them” she referenced were two 15-year-olds, Maddy Herrick and Amara Parker.

In eight weeks of racing, the winner has been either Breeanna (4), Maddy (2), or Amara (2).

Kasie Kolbe won the Ladies 8-lap heat last night and was off to a good start in the 20-lap feature before the front tire blew several laps into the feature.

Kasie shares the car with her cousin Skip Tripp. Ironically, Skip had a flat in the July 8^th Outlaws feature on the same side and it cost him dearly in that race.

Kasie’s flat led to a caution and a restart with Breeanna on the pole and Maddy on the outside.

Breeanna resumed the lead right away with Maddy and Amara close by in Lap 4.

Both Maddy and Amara tried, during the final sixteen laps, to use the second groove to get past Breeanna. It didn’t work for either of them, in fact, they each gave up second when they attempted it.

“There was no second groove,” said Maddy Herrick who finished second afterwards. “The track was wicked slick. We’re still getting used to racing on hot days.”

Breeanna got a little wide on the final turn. “It was the last lap,” she said. “I was getting excited, and I gave up the bottom a little bit.”

Maddy has been first or second for the last four weeks. “We were there speed wise,” she said. “A few more laps and I probably could have got her. I’ll take second. She’s very good.”

“We think we have a winning car,” Maddy added. “We’ll learn from this and be better next week.”

Maddy is also the goalie on the Oxford Hills girls’ soccer team. I covered her game last year against Brunswick. “Soccer preseason starts soon,” she said. “It’s a lot of work but I like it.”

My intention was to cover the Outlaws, but their feature was moved to last. The Ladies were first.

Impressive run by Jake Dobson in the Outlaws’ heat. Skip Tripp passed everyone else, but Jake won his first heat by holding Skip off for the final four laps of the 8-lap race.

Jake Dobson holds the lead over Skip Tripp in the final lap of the 8-lap heat

Skip Tripp starts to move on the upper groove in the Outlaws heat

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Tagged as Amara Parker, Breeanna Spaulding, Ladies Feature, Maddy Herrick

July 18, 2022 · 7:20 pm

Portland Sea Dogs Excite Sold-Out Hadlock

(Portland) It was a happy Sunday at Hadlock.

Yes, the Sea Dogs won in last-inning, dramatic style but that was only part of it.

The park was busy with folks. There was a buzz in every part of the place.

The Sea Dogs pulled out a 12-11 win against the AA Yankees.

I guess, that alone would make a Yankees’ disliker, like myself happy.

The best part may have been that the young Yanks grabbed the lead in the top of the ninth only to have the young Red Sox take it back.

The crowd got my attention. People were excited to be there and were enjoying themselves on a warm Sunday afternoon.

The Sea Dogs management always has fun going on, but on this afternoon just being there was enough.

In the pre-game, one young man got to hand slap the players on both teams.

My biggest takeaway was a special needs young man taking on the National Anthem. He gave it a shot and pulled it off. It didn’t have quality, but it had heart and that put a lump in my throat.

I had hoped for a look at young Ceddanne Rafaela, but he was in Los Angeles taking part in the Futures Game. I’m guessing that the Yankees’ top prospect (Anthony Volpe) was also there.

I saw Anthony at a New Hampshire/Somerset game earlier this year.

There was plenty of action on the field. There were baserunners galore and several home runs.

Alex Binelas congratulated by Manager Chad Epperson

Young Alex Binelas (#17 Red Sox prospect) whacked two homers. Alex moved up to AA in late June. This was certainly his best game so far.

Impressed with Christian Koss. He has the numbers to be Portland’s MVP to date. Today he homered and was aggressive on the bases.

Portland’s David Hamilton leads the Eastern League in steals with forty.

I was on the edge of the Portland dugout and so when he was picking up his glove at the start of the game I said to him, “Steal, steal, steal!” He smiled.

David Hamilton steals second base in the first inning

David then went off to his position in the field but when he came back in, he led off with a hit and then immediately stole second. From my location I had pretty good photographer’s positioning to catch that action.

When the inning ended, David again came by for his glove. Again, I told him to steal. He looked at me and said, “I already gave you one.”

David did steal second (again), and this time with no throw. Later, he would steal home. Wish I’d gotten that shot!

I did get Christian Voss sliding into home.

A player I was looking for was Max Burt. Max attended St. John’s (Danvers). When I saw the Somerset team in NH, Max didn’t play. However, the day before today’s game Max had hit two home runs. Today, he collected a couple of hits.

St. John’s Prep’s Max Burt had two hits against Portland

One thing that Max did in the field that was unique was, just before a pitch was made, he would jump in the air. I’m not sure what advantage there is to it, but he did it just before every pitch.

The Eastern League schedule is interesting. Teams now play six-game series with each opponent. What this means for Portland is that their next two series are away, so they won’t be at Hadlock until August 2^nd versus Erie.

August works the other way for the Sea Dogs because most of the month they will be at Hadlock.

The weather was interesting. There was sun, clouds, and a little bit of rain. Welcome to New England!

Continued thanks to Chris Cameron for making my visits possible. Hadlock Field is a great place to be.

Chad Bell retrieves a loose ball in the infield

Christian Koss congratulated in the Portland dugout after his home run

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Tagged as Alex Binelas, Christian Koss, Max Burt

July 9, 2022 · 6:06 pm

Drew Morse wins Outlaws Feature

Drew Morse gets the win and Will Dunphy finishes second

(Oxford) It looked like last week but then it didn’t.

Skip Tripp and Will Dunphy had finished 1-2 last week and there they were in the same order deep into Friday night’s 20-lap Outlaws feature.

A blown tire changed everything.

Skip Tripp suddenly lost speed with Will Dunphy close behind him.

This turn of events opened the door for Opening Day winner Drew Morse.

“I saw Dunphy and the 12 messing around,” recalled Drew. “I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna hang her out there and pray that I can get around them on the outside.’”

Get around he did, and Drew held the lead the rest of the way to gain his second win.

“I thought I had a chance,” said Will Dunphy afterwards. “I’m still happy with second, in fact I’m happy to be in the top five.”

Will has now finished second four straight weeks. He had a win before the run of seconds began.

Tonight, was the first night of three straight days of racing. There were fewer races tonight and that effected the track significantly.

“We had a way better track this time because we didn’t have all the Super Late Model rubber on the track,” explained Will.

The increased traction opened the upper grooves as options and there were plenty of Outlaws’ takers.

Running four wide is usually a direct route to trouble but not tonight. The feature had four-wide’s and they never led to cautions. It was a bit tight for those in the middle of it, however.

“I felt like a pinball out there!” said Drew laughing.

Drew wasn’t pleased with the way his car has been handling since he won the feature the end of May. “We’ve been struggling with the car being tight,” he said. “We were still tight tonight, but it was good enough to get the win.”

However, it wasn’t enough to get the win in the 8-lap heat for Drew. He ended up second to Betty Nelson.

“I just happened to be a little tighter than Betty and she got me,” added Drew.

Chris Foster finished third in the feature.

Serious accident in the Rebels’ feature tonight. The longer the medical people are on the track the more concerned I get. Can’t help it.

The prospect of injury is part of the reality that race-car drivers (and their families) face.

“It’s the chance you take every time you buckle in,” said Drew Morse.

The weather was just right.

Between the heats and the features, kids got rides in race cars.

Skip Tripp chases pole sitter Jake Dobson

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Tagged as Betty Nelson, Chris Foster, Drew Morse, Skip Tripp, Will Dunphy

July 4, 2022 · 3:18 pm

Eric Ashe and Heather Gallant win 46th annual Bridgton 4 on the Fourth

46th annual Bridgton 4 on the Fourth gets underway

(Bridgton) Eric Ashe of Natick (MA) was the top finisher in the 46^th annual Bridgton 4 on the Fourth road race.

Eric Ashe (Natick) wins the Bridgon 4 on the Fourth

Heather Gallant of Wayne (ME) was the repeat winner among the women.

Nearly 1500 runners participated under sunny skies departing from in front of Food City at 8AM.

Eric Ashe was visiting his mother in Greenwood during the holiday weekend.

“I talked myself into driving over and running the race,” said Eric afterwards. “The cash price covers the gas expenses.”

Sasha/Scott Mindel (Burlington) have family on Moose Pond but hadn’t run the race before.

The two of them ran today, and both came in second.

“Our A goal was for both of us to come in first,” said Scott afterwards.

“I had seen the recent results, so I thought that I had a chance to win,” Scott added.

Eric Ashe (885) and Scott Mindel (766) at the start of the race

That optimism suffered a bit of a jolt before the race started.

“At the warmups, I saw Eric (Ashe),” said Scott. “He generally beats me, but I’ve beaten him a couple of times.”

For a mile the talented twosome stayed together. Then came the hills.

“The uphill started, and I tried to maintain the same effort,” recalled Eric. “Luckily, I was able to open a gap and keep it. I think the gap got bigger.”

“He’s much better on the uphills than I am,” said Scott. “When the uphill started today, I was hoping to keep him within close enough distance because I’m better on the downhills.”

“But Eric got too much on me and I couldn’t make a move until the downhill in the last mile,” said Scott. “It was too late by then.”

“At least it was a fun last mile,” he added with a smile.

Eric finished at 20:06 and had a thirteen-second lead over Scott.

Heather Gallant (Wayne) won last year.

“I was happy with last year’s weather and this years’ time (23:26),” she said.

2021 was rainy with temperatures in the fifties.

Heather was 15^th overall today.

Heather didn’t face any serious challengers from today’s runners. Her closing time was 23:26. The next woman to finish (Sasha Mindel) closed at 24:58.

“I hung out with a couple of guys during the race,” said Heather afterwards. “I pace off them. They’re good about doing that.”

Heather said she felt better prepared this time. “I had a couple more races coming into this one compared to last year. The hills here are still memorable.”

Sasha Mindel, who had a daughter last year, was glad just to be out there running. “This is only my second race since having her,” she said. “It was the first time it felt as if everything clicked.”

All four runners I talked with enjoyed the Bridgton race and would return if they could.

Scott Mindel told me that he had run at the University of Cincinnati. “I now run for the Central Mass Striders. I do a lot of races including marathons.”

Eric Ashe attended Boston University. “I saw online that guys were doing twenty-flat here,” he said, “so I knew it would be competitive. I am focusing on marathons. I did one in Minnesota two weeks ago.”

Joseph Reynolds (3^rd), Andrew Mongiat (4^th), and Chris Harmon (5^th) were in the top five.

Race Director Bill Graham again ran things smoothly.

The object is to have the male and female winners run through a banner at the finish line. It’s always easy with the male. The female…not always. Today was an example. Female leader Heather Gallant was close behind another runner near the finish and when the banner went up that runner (Thomad Lyons) got wrapped in it.

(The pictures should enlarge if you click on them.)

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Filed under Bridgton, Bridgton 4 on the Fourth

Tagged as Andrew Mongiat, Bill Graham, Bridgton, Chris Harmon, Eric Ashe, Heather Gallant, Joseph Reynolds, Sasha Mindel, Scott Mindel

July 3, 2022 · 3:25 pm

Skip Tripp wins third straight Outlaws feature at Oxford Plains Speedway

Skip Tripp takes a victory spin after winning his third straight Outlaws feature

(Oxford ME) They each did it their way and they each made it work.

Skip Tripp had the fast car and the ability to get around cars.

Skip Tripp (12) heads for the lead in the second lap of the Outlaws feature.

Will Dunphy envisioned chaos on the track and stayed back waiting for his chance.

Skip Tripp won his third straight Outlaws feature on Saturday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Skip started in the back because of his successes in the previous weeks. It didn’t matter.

Within two laps, in both the 8-lap heat and the 20-lap feature, Skip had used the outside lane to pass the field. Once there, he didn’t look back.

“Everything went our way,” said Skip afterwards. “We were pretty hooked up. It was kind of easy tonight.”

Will Dunphy finished second.

Will also started in the back because of previous successes. Unlike Skip, however, Will was content to stay there for a while.

“I hung back because I knew things were going to happen,” explained Will. “I could tell the way drivers were acting at the get-go.”

“Some want to get to the top by Lap 2,” he added. “They need to calm down and realize that there are twenty laps.”

Corey Morgan got spun and his car was totaled early in the Outlaws feature.

“A car getting totaled takes the fun out of it for me,” said Will. “There were way too many cars wrecked tonight. There is no need for it. There are not enough of us out there for that to happen.”

The spin below in the feature gave Will (#4) his chance to move from the back to the front around the involved cars and he did:

Skip Tripp: “We’re just playing with this thing now until we get to Street Stocks for something else. We’re just getting back into rhythm. We’ve been out of it for so long. The car is for my cousin. I set it to her liking but it’s too loose now for her. We need to change it. We’ll tighten it up and hopefully she’ll have the same success.”

Will Dunphy: “Tripp’s car is definitely fast. It wasn’t that fast before but maybe a lot of experience has something to do with the way it’s now going for them. There was too much rubber on the track today from the Super Late Models. It was super icy. I couldn’t stay up there very long. This is my second year with the Outlaws. I was told to move up from the Cruiser Class. It’s been a fun venture so far.”

This was the fifth week of Outlaws’ racing.

Skip Tripp’s lowest finish so far has been third.

Skip Tripp working the outside in Lap 1 of the 8-lap heat

Will Dunphy has been either first or second during the past four weeks.

Matt Veinott earned third today. His highest previous finish had been fifth.

Combining two days of racing with fireworks brought out a good crowd. The weather was ideal too.

Yes, I gave the Bandits coverage last year. Their demise set me searching for another group to cover. The Outlaws have a small roster….less confusion initially for me. I’ll see what I can do over the next three months. There will be pictures and interviews.

(The pictures should enlarge if you click on them.)