July 20, 2012 · 11:57 am

Somerset defeats Augusta 11-8 in 13-year-old Babe Ruth state tournament

Dustin Crawford was the starter and closer for Somerset allowing just one run.

(Harrison) Somerset defeated Augusta, 11-8, in the 13-year-old Babe Ruth 2012 state baseball tournament on a cool Thursday night at RADR Field.

The victory keeps Somerset in the winner’s bracket and sets up a date with equally undefeated Central Maine at 7PM this evening (Friday) back at RADR Field.

Augusta moves into the other bracket in this double elimination tournament and needs to stay clean the rest of the way for a chance at the state title and a possible rematch with Somerset.

Augusta had faced Somerset in a district matchup on July 14th with Somerset winning, 5-4.  The stakes were much higher in Thursday night’s game.

score checking

This tourney game was large on runs, errors, pitchers used, and controversy.  Augusta had a nice five-run inning in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 advantage.  Unfortunately, one of those runs was taken away in the top of the fourth and that’s where the controversy began.

The five runs should have stayed in my opinion.  Let me draw it out in the shortest way possible: Augusta sent nine batters to the plate in that inning, three batters made outs, and one runner was on base when the last out was recorded.  There is no conceivable way that Augusta wouldn’t have had to have scored five runs……….but the ruling stood and fortunately the removed run didn’t matter at the end.

The pitching of starter/closer Dustin Crawford saved the day for Somerset.  Dustin pitched the first two innings and gave up one run on one hit.  He was back in the seventh as the closer to protect a 3-run lead and responded with a scoreless final inning.

Close play at third as Brady Smith waits for Brendan Curran

Somerset exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning after two outs to turn a 6-4 deficit into an 11-6 advantage.  Kyle Dugan (3 hits/3 RBI) had two of his hits in the decisive sixth as Somerset sent twelve men to the plate.

During that inning, Augusta replaced tiring starter Justin Rodrigue with the bases loaded and no runs in.  After striking out Mason Oakes for the second out Justin’s replacement, Andrew Browne, surrendered a walk and four straight hits before the bleeding was stopped by reliever Kolbe Merfeld. But Somerset at that point had a five-run lead.

Augusta got two back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Brady Smith’s two-run single.  However, they left the bases loaded as reliever Brendan Curran escaped by striking out Zach Glidden and sending Somerset into the seventh with a three-run (11-8) advantage.

The most acrobatic sequence in this game was Taylor Heath jumping in an attempt to avoid the tag of catcher Will Stinson.  Taylor was ruled out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somerset ended up with eight hits while Augusta had seven.

Brendan Curran drove in two runs and scored three runs for Somerset.

Andrew Browne and Brady Smith each had two hits for Augusta.  Brady added four RBI.

Dylan Abbott made several terrific plays in center for Augusta.

There were at least seven errors by my count most of them on infield grounders.

There were also seven different pitchers used as both coaches tried to balance the need to win this game with the need to have eligible pitchers in the games ahead.

If the weather stays good a state 13’s champion will be crowned on Sunday night at RADR Field.

(The pictures above and below enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Will Stinson scores in the sixth

Kolbe Merfeld – scored two runs

Brendan Curran – scored three runs and had two RBI

Augusta bench

Justin Rodrigue catches a foul pop

Andrew Browne had two hits and scored two runs

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July 18, 2012 · 8:29 pm

Bryce Brentz and Jackie Bradley Jr. sighted in Portland Sea Dogs visit

Bryce Brentz

Jackie Bradley Jr

(Portland)  Huge games by anyone named Jeremy as they led the Portland Sea Dogs to a 12-0 rout of the Reading Phillies on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at Hadlock Field.

Jeremy Kehrt pitched a perfect five innings and Jeremy Hazelbaker had three hits including two home runs and drove in five runs.

After catching Bryce Harper, Derek Norris, and Tyler Moore in August last year when Harrisburg played at Hadlock, I was intent on getting pictures of potential major leaguers.

The top prospects in the game, as far as I could figure, were: Cesar Hernandez, Darin Ruf, Sebastian Valle, and  Trevor May for Reading and Jackie Bradley Jr. and Bryce Brentz for Portland.

It was a bright day most of the time so unfortunately for a picture taker, many of the players wore sunglasses.  I got two players I was after (Darin Ruf and Bryce Brentz) to remove their shades for pictures.  Cesar and Trevor didn’t wear sunglasses.  The toughest one was Jackie Bradley.  However, he didn’t wear shades when he was hitting so I got my best shots when he was on the bases or returning to the Portland dugout.

Trevor May

Trevor May had a very rough afternoon.  The Phillies #1 prospect (6-5/250) had serious control issues giving up eight walks.

There was a nice ceremony before the game welcoming  some new citizens.

There were over six thousand fans on hand and the afternoon was filled with entertainment for them.

Portland shortstop Ryan Dent made several terrific plays.

Marquez Smith also had a home run for Portland.  There is a lighthouse in centerfield that shoots off fireworks after a Portland home run.

Chris Cameron (Director of Media Relations) once again made my visit a smooth one.  Being allowed on the field before the game and in the dugouts during the game certainly increased my chances of getting some good pictures.

(The pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

lighthouse fireworks

Bryce Brentz

Jackie Bradley Jr

new citizens sworn in

Sebastian Valle

Peter Hissey, Jackie Bradley Jr, Bryce Brentz

Jeremy Kehrt

Jeremy Hazelbaker homer trot

Chris Cameron

Darin Ruf

Cesar Hernandez

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July 16, 2012 · 10:55 pm

Gorham edges Mount Washington Valley 2-1 to take Larry Carter Invitational Baseball Tournament

Gorham celebrates winning the 27th Larry Carter Invitational Baseball Tournament

Kyle King pitched four shutout innings, drove in the winning run, and assisted on the last out of the game.

(Harrison ME) Gorham defeated Mount Washington Valley, 2-1, to take the 27th Larry Carter Invitational Baseball Tournament (9-12 year olds) at RADR Field on Monday night.

Gorham picked up the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth but MWV (first time in the tourney) came back to tie things in the top of the fifth.  Gorham pushed across the game-winner in the bottom of the fifth.

Pitching dominated in this one.  The two teams combined for only seven hits.

Kyle King, Steve Klatt, and Ben Nelson struck out eleven MWV batters.

Gorham (tournament champs in 2006) got on the board first in the fourth.  They put runners (Mike Evans and Tyler Marston) on first and third with one out.  Tyler then broke for second drawing a throw and Mike was able to race home ahead of the throw.

Ben Nelson tripled in the fifth and scored the winning run.

Two batters later Gorham had the same first-and-third setup again.  This time, however, the throw back to MWV catcher Mike Seavey from shortstop Ethan Robitaille nailed Tyler Marston breaking from third for the final out.

MWV retaliated with a run of their own in the fifth.  Speedy Brett Miller tripled into the gap in right center and scored on a passed ball by Gorham catcher Brogan McDonald.

Gorham won the championship in the bottom of the fifth.  Ben Nelson tripled down the rightfield line and scored on Kyle King’s RBI single off MWV pitcher Jack Johnston’s leg.  A batter earlier, Trevor Gray had hit a liner back at Jack which he caught protecting the 1-1 tie for the moment.  Jack wasn’t as fortunate with Kyle’s hard-hit grounder and Ben was able to cross home with the eventual game-winner.

Gorham’s Ben Nelson came on in the final inning (sixth) to retire the three batters he faced.  The game ended with a deflection off third baseman Trevor Gray that went to shortstop Kyle King who threw the runner out at first.

Steve Klatt pitched the fifth inning to get the win for Gorham.

Brett Miller slides home safely in the fifth.

Ben Nelson, Kyle King, and Trevor Loubier had Gorham’s hits.

Jack Johnston, Jameson Goff, Michael Seavey, and Brett Miller had hits for Mount Washington Valley.

MWV had chances in the second (two runners on) and the third (Chet Johnston reached third) but came up empty.

MWV saved a run in the Gorham third when second baseman Caleb McPherson somehow got the ball to shortstop Ethan Robitaille to end the inning with a force out.

Plenty of threatening clouds as the game wound down but no rain came.  The awards ceremony and the usual picture taking went off dryly.

Director Larry Carter let groundskeeper Rick Jennings hand out the championship trophy.

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Gorham celebrates championship

Jack Johnston pitched four innings

Chet Johnston reaches third

ball deflects from Trevor Gray to Kyle King

Runner-up Mount Washington Valley

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July 14, 2012 · 8:42 pm

2012 Harrison Old Home Days Parade

Kora Renegades

(All of these pictures from the 2012 Harrison Old Home Day Parade will enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Brad Boos and family

Averill Davis

Harrison 3

Harrison 6

Harrison 7

Kora Renegade leader

Ken on a John Deere

Kora bikers

Kora Funsters

Harrison Marching Band

Nitro

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July 13, 2012 · 7:25 pm

Skowhegan avoids elimination by defeating Andy Valley 18-14 in 10-and-under state baseball tournament

Lucas Patchell was the winning pitcher and drove in three runs for Skowhegan.

(Harrison ME)  Skowhegan escaped elimination in the state ten-and-under Cal Ripen baseball tournament by defeating Andy Valley, 18-14, in seven innings at RADR Field in Harrison on Thursday night.

The teams had played eight innings two nights ago with Andy Valley walking off with a 10-9 victory.

In this exciting game both teams went down…. but not out, giving a good crowd plenty to groan and cheer about during a pleasant evening.

A big eight-run third by AV put Skowhegan behind, 10-1.  In the fourth Skowhegan collected three runs and AV came up with two of their own and had runners on second and third with one out.  At that moment the mercy (10-run) rule was lurking and would have kicked in if those two runs had scored.  Lucas Patchell, however, came on in relief and got Matt Johnson to fly out and Wyatt Williamson to pop out and Skowhegan was still alive.

Later it was AV’s turn to go down as Skowhegan put up ten runs over the next two innings (5th and 6th) as AV pitching (eight walks and five hits) fell apart.

Jake Mills had five hits and three RBI for Andy Valley.

With those ten runs Skowhegan led 14-12 in the bottom of the sixth (last inning).  AV went down to their last out before Jake Mills (5 hits) singled and Janek Luksza and Matt Johnson walked. Suddenly the bases were loaded.  When Wyatt Williamson singled past second two runs scored (tying the game) and Matt Johnson reached third.  Now Skowhegan was one hit away from being eliminated but again Lucas Pachella escaped by striking out Rodney Bean to send the game into extra innings.

Skowhegan put the game away with four runs in the top of the seventh.  Rodney Bean came on to pitch for AV and was wild (3 walks/1 hit batsman) and Skowhegan sent ten batters to the plate.  Matthew Berry drove in the actual game winner with a single past short scoring Hunter Washburn.

Andy Valley had a couple of hits (Keegan Chase and Charlie Morton) in the seventh but Lucas Pachella was not scored on and Skowhegan had an 18-14 win.

Between pitchers Ryan Savage, Marcus Christopher, and Lucas Pachella, Skowhegan registered twelve strikeouts in the twenty-one outs they recorded in seven innings.

AV pitchers Janek Luksza, Jake Mills, Matt Johnson, and Rodney Bean combined for fourteen walks and three hit batsmen.

Andy Valley collected fourteen hits.  Jake Mills had five of them while leadoff batter Charlie Morton and catcher Wyatt Williamson had three each.  Charlie added three runs to his finals stats while Wyatt and Jake each had three RBI.

Marcus Christopher drove in four runs for Skowhegan

Skowhegan had hitting heroes up and down their lineup.  At the bottom of the order, Hunter Washburn and Carter Hunt combined for five hits and six runs scored.  At the top of the order, Matthew Berry scored three runs, Lucas Pachella had three RBI and scored two, Marcus Christopher drove in four runs, and Braden McCarty had four of Skowhegan’s fifteen this.

The clutch pitching of Lucas Pachella was a huge part of the Skowhegan win.  Lucas finished the final 3 2/3 innings and escaped several AV threats.  He allowed only two runs while his teammates were scoring eleven.

It was a great game to watch if you didn’t have a horse in the race.  However, most folks on hand were not so fortunate and for them the game was more stressful than exciting.

Anyone who ever visits the Field of Dreams in Harrison comes away impressed with the setting.  You just would never expect to find a place like it in such a remote area.

The win by Skowhegan necessitated a second game between the two teams to determine the champion.  I headed off to the fireworks for Harrison’s Old Home Days and missed that game.

(If the scores for these tournament games are being posted online somewhere I confess that I have yet to find that site.)

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July 12, 2012 · 12:41 pm

Tim Even and Sara Bradley win 2012 Harrison Recreation Department 5K Run by the Lake race

Tim Even (136) and Sara Bradley (bright green socks) among the starters of the Harrison 5K.

Tim Even wins by over a minute.

(Harrison ME)  No truth to the rumor that Tim Even stopped at the Village Tie Up during the race for a soda before heading back out to win the Harrison 5K on Wednesday night.

Tim from Stoneham, Maine easily won the 10th Annual Harrison Recreation Department 5K Run by the Lake (16:45) finishing seventy-three seconds ahead of runner-up Dan Crooker of Bethel.

Last time I saw Tim run was a week ago when he was chasing Silas Eastman down Main Street in Bridgton‘s Fourth of July race.  I jokingly asked him, before the Harrison race, where Silas was.  He told me that Silas is a friend of his (they are both connected with Fryeburg Academy) and that he would love to race him again.

Tim (recent graduate from Southern Maine) informed me that he had never run the Harrison race before and showed up because he’ll miss a race in Lovell in the near future and needed the workout.

Minus Silas to keep him company, Tim ran alone early and never let up.  I would suspect that his winning time is a course record.

Dan Crooker (17:58) finished second, Bronson Dean (18:38) third, Mark MacDougall (19:02) fourth, and Tim Cushing (19:51) fifth.

Sara Bradley of Waterford finished seventh overall

Sara Bradley (20:37 – 7th overall) took the women’s title away from last year’s winner Sarah Pribram (20:40).  And as you can tell from the times……it was close.

Abby Stratton (14) defended her 1-19 women’s title passing Virginia Cain down the stretch and winning by eight seconds.

Last year’s overall winner, Eric Darling, finished 9th.  His time of 17:41 in 2011 would have earned him second place in 2012, thirty seconds behind the winner.

The weather was splendid with temperatures in the 70s and plenty of cooling shadows.

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Ben Kinnerson, Sara Bradley, Eric Darling, and Sarah Pribram

Virginia Cain and Abby Stratton

Matt and Mitchell Laracy

Jamie Toohey and family

Benjamin Sykes (8 years old)

Leslie Hayes and family

race starts

Tim Even past Harrison Landing

Dan Crooker (2nd)

Bronson Dean (3rd)

Mark MacDougall (4th)

Tim Cushing (5th)

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July 10, 2012 · 10:16 pm

Andy Valley continues undefeated after 10-9 thriller over Skowhegan in Cal Ripken 10’s state tournament

Andy Valley team celebrates 10-9 win over Skowhegan.

Jake Mills – drove in four runs and was the winning pitcher

(Harrison ME)  Andy Valley edged Skowhegan, 10-9, in an eight-inning thriller at RADR Field on Monday afternoon in the Cal Ripken State 10’s baseball tournament.

AV is undefeated after three games in the double-elimination tourney but were fortunate to escape with a win against hard-hitting Skowhegan on this day.

Skowhegan will need a victory in their next game at Harrison at 6PM on Wednesday to stay alive while Andy Valley plays at the same site on Thursday (5PM) chasing its fourth straight win.

Andy Valley’s Rodney Bean drilled the game-winner over Skowhegan leftfielder Hunter Washburn’s head, delivering Janek Luksza from second in the bottom of the eighth.

AV jumped ahead 8-3 in the first and that lead looked solid until the top of the last inning (sixth) when Skowhegan erupted with six runs on eight hits to grab an 9-8 advantage.  But a Charlie Morton triple, followed by a Jake Mills single off second baseman Zeb Tibbett’s glove, brought Charlie home and sent the game into extra innings.

Skowhegan huddle

“Glittering” is the only way to describe the chances for both teams in the seventh.  Skowhegan had runners on  second and third with no outs while AV had a runner (Keegan Chase) tagged out at the plate on David Obert’s throw from right field.

“Super glittering” would best describe Skowhegan’s chance in the eighth.  They were issued three walks but had one runner thrown out stealing and another picked off first on a liner back to AV pitcher Jake Mills.

AV finally won the game in the bottom of the eighth.  They put the first two runners on with a walk and a botched fielder’s choice.  A nice catch by Ryan Savage in center prolonged the inning but Rodney Bean’s hit was well over the leftfielder’s head and brought home the winning run.

Marcus Christopher – 3 hits and scored 2 runs

Skowhegan lost despite scoring nine runs, collecting eighteen hits, and leaving runners on in every inning.

Lucas Patchell, Marcus Christopher, and Zeb Tibbetts each had three hits for Skowhegan.  Ryan Savage drove in four runs with two hits.

Charlie Morton and Jake Mills each had three hits for Andy Valley.  Jake also drove in four runs and got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.

Marcus Christopher and Ryan Savage each pitched three innings for Skowhegan.  Luke Patchell covered the last two.

Wyatt Williamson pitched the first six innings for Andy Valley.

Riley Volpe – made a big catch

AV centerfielder Riley Volpe saved a couple of runs in the fourth with his catch of a line drive.

The press box at RADR Field was an excellent place from which to view a game.  The only drawback was the fencing that limited picture taking.  On the other hand, that fencing did offer protection to someone was limited reflexes!

(All the pictures enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Janek Luksza – scored the winning run

state 10s bracket

Ryan Savage – 2 hits, 4 RBI

Lucas Patchell – 3 hits

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July 4, 2012 · 10:24 pm

Emily Ward and Silas Eastman Win 2012 Bridgton 4 on the 4th

Silas Eastman, Tim Even, and Peter Bottomley (in the distance) stride for the top three places in the 2012 Bridgton 4 on the 4th

Silas Eastman – champion runner and skier at Fryeburg Academy

(Bridgton ME)  The last few years runners “from away” have shown up at the Bridgton 4 on the 4th and gotten the best of the local runners.

Not this year.  Familiar faces Silas Eastman, Tim Even, and Peter Bottomley took the top three spots in the male division under overcast conditions.  (It was almost like having Americans take the first three spots in the Boston Marathon!)

However, in the women’s division vacationing Emily Ward, formerly a Division 1 runner for the University of Richmond, was seventeenth overall (24:26) and defeated the second place woman (Cathleen Balantic) by fifty seconds.

Interesting coincidence that last year’s men’s winner (Jonny Wilson) was also from the University of Richmond.

Winner Silas Eastman from Chatham (NH) just finished his junior year at Fryeburg Academy and has won the Class B state cross country championship the last two years.  The 17-year-old is also one of the best skiers in Maine.

Emily Ward – former University of Richmond runner finishes first

Silas ran the course in 21:33 defeated FA alum Tim Even by eight seconds.  When I saw the two runners near the Magic Lantern, Silas appeared to be stretching his lead over Tim.

Second place finisher Tim (23) from Stoneham (ME) graduated this year from Southern Maine.  He was the 2012 Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in the Little East Conference.

Third place finisher Peter Bottomley was 16th in 2003 but has been in the top ten every other year since 2001.  The 50-year-old’s best finish had been sixth before today‘s third place.  The Maine Track Club named Peter the 2011 Outstanding Runner in the 40-49 age bracket.

Dominic Vernazza (1936) finished 4th. Kevin On (1689) fifth. Max Warner (1431) sixth.

Dominic Vernazza took fourth.  He is at Camp Winona by way of Chatham, New Jersey.  Dominic (15) is a sophomore at Chatham High.  He was the Fishawack 4-mile run winner in New Jersey on June 9th.

Kevin On (19) from Chicago got 5th and Max Warner (24) on the staff at Camp Owatonna was sixth.

Young Nick Brown (14) from Madison (NH) finished seventh.  Nick was 9th yesterday in a race in Manchester (NH).

Colton Tinker (22) was eighth.  Colton was a junior this year at Southern Maine and part of the 2011 Little East champion cross country team with Tim Even.

Cathleen Balantic (795) second and April Wernig (1973) third.

Matt O’Rourke (17) took ninth.  Matt was a junior at Arlington (MA) High School this year.

Dr. Kyle Rhoads runs this race regularly.  Kyle is the principal of the Windham (ME) Primary School.  He finished tenth today.

On the women’s side, Emily Ward was seventeenth overall and Cathleen Balantic was twenty-fifth.  Cathleen won a 5K ran in Juneau (Alaska) on June 16th.

Former Bowdoin runner April Wernig finished third for the women and thirty-sixth overall.

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Logan Kavanagh

Matt ORourke (9th)

Nick Brown (seventh)

Payton Mannerino

Peter Bottomley (3rd)

race start

Sara Bradley

Tim Even (2nd)

Colton Tinker (8th)

Tom and Karoline Hartner

Tom Bumatay

Henry Howell (12) finished 31st

Henry Osborn

Dr. Kyle Rhoads (10th)

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June 16, 2012 · 9:38 pm

Sonja Morse leads Cony to state Class A softball title 2-0 over South Portland

Cony High School – 2012 Class A softball champions

Sonja Morse

(Standish) Sonja Morse (one-hitter) faced only twenty-one batters as Cony defeated South Portland, 2-0, to earn the Class A state softball title at St. Joseph’s on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The Rams (20-0) benefited from three Erin Bogdanovich walks and a clutch two-out single by Cecilia Fuller in the fourth inning to get the two runs (Sonja Morse and Alyssa Brochu) that proved the difference in this one.

Sonja Morse was the #1 star in the biggest game of her life.  She had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings and was on base all three plate appearances.  The talented junior also scored the first Cony run.

The Red Riots (17-3) only had two base runners and both of them were picked off base.  Courtesy runner Abby Young was the first victim.  She ran for Sam DiBiase (walk) in the fifth inning with one out.  Abby got to second on a wild pitch but when Lindsay Cannon struck out for the second out, Abby appeared to think the inning was over and left second. She was tagged out after a throw from catcher Nicole Rugan.

Danica Gleason tagged out by Ram shortstop Alyssah Dennett to end the game.

Danica Gleason was the second base-running victim.  Danica singled in the seventh with two outs.   She took a big lead from first, then slipped and fell trying to get back to the bag. When she realized that she wouldn’t be able to get back to first she headed for second and ended up in a rundown.  Ram shortstop Alyssah Dennett applied the tag on Danica that ended the game.

There were plenty of strikeouts as Erin had thirteen and Sonja had ten.  The key difference between the two of them, other than Erin being a lefty and Sonja a righty,  turned out to be Erin’s three walks in the fourth inning.  Two of the Rams getting free passes scored.

Cony had a base runner in the second (Sonja Morse), two in the third (Arika Brochu and Alyssah Dennett) and one in the sixth (Sonja Morse) but Erin escaped each time.  In the sixth Nicole Rugan tripled but was cut down at the plate on Sonja’s fielder’s choice – third baseman Libby Grant to catcher Sam DiBiase.

Alyssa Brochu scores second Ram run

That productive fourth inning started with a Sonja Morse walk.  She was sacrificed (Maggie Russell) to second and reached third on a wild pitch with one out.  Alyssa Brochu walked and escaped a rundown to reach second.  Olivia Deeves walked to load the bases with two outs and set the stage for #9 hitter Cecilia Fuller.  The senior leftfielder singled down the right field line scoring Sonja.  The relay back into the infield wasn’t handled cleanly and Alyssa Brochu also scored.  With two outs and everyone running Alyssa would have been a tough out at home even if the relay had been handled better.

A scary moment was in the sixth when teammate Alyssa Brochu drilled a line drive into the Ram dugout catching Desiree Chabot in the face.  At most of the softball games I see there is protection for players in the dugout.  Desiree, by the way, recovered enough to be part of the post-game presentations.

South Portland had won fifteen straight before today’s loss.

Sonja struck out batters in every inning except the fifth.  She had five K’s in a row at one point.

Erin Bogdanovich – thirteen strikeouts

Erin got three strikeouts each on the top of the Ram’s batting order – Arika Brochu and Alyssah Dennett.

Nicole Rugan tripled over Riots right fielder Kelsey Morton’s head but was cut down at the plate later.

The bad memory for South Portland from the game will be ending two of the last three innings with runner’s getting picked off base.

This was first softball title for the school from Augusta since 1983.

Cony allowed only fourteen runs over the entire twenty-game schedule.

One of the umpires arrived late thinking that the game started at 4PM instead of 3PM.

I used the St. Joe’s press box in covering this game and it provided a much better view than standing along the fence as I did for the Fryeburg Academy/Greely game on Friday.

Cony boxscore

South Portland boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge considerable if you click on them.)

Cecilia Fuller – clutch hit in the fourth inning

South Portland coach Ralph Aceto

Alyssa Brochu caught in rundown. Laurine German has the ball.

Sonja Morse prepares to throw out bunter Erin Bogdanovich

Cony team hoists trophy as Coach Rocky Gaslin applauds

Catcher Sam DiBiase prepares to tag out Nicole Rugan

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June 14, 2012 · 9:42 pm

Fryeburg Academy wins the Class B West Regionals defeating Greely 8-1 in softball

Fryeburg Academy – 2012 Class B Western Regional softball champions

(Standish)  It’s on to the Class B title game on Saturday (11AM) against Old Town at Brewer High School for the Fryeburg Academy Raiders after they eliminated the Greely Rangers, 8-1, on a sunny Thursday afternoon at St. Joseph’s College.

Raider coach Fred Apt

Fryeburg Academy coach Fred Apt won his 150th game and his Raiders have now won the Class B West Regionals five straight years.

FA (18-1) went into the fourth inning trailing 1-0 but came out of that inning with eight runs, capitalizing on everything that Greely gave them.  And one thing that the Rangers gave FA was three extra outs.

After Maggie McConkey singled leading off the fourth, first baseman Mykaela Twitchell, third baseman Lindsey Arsenault, and shortstop Caroline Hamilton made errors on consecutive batters.  So instead of shading themselves in their dugout, the Rangers had already given up the tying run and FA had the bases loaded with no outs.

Eight batters later Fryeburg Academy had put up seven more runs and this game had reached the “Hail Mary” zone for Greely High from Cumberland.

In that big fourth inning, Emily Davidson cleared the bases with a right-center gapper.  Later, Maddy Smith and Sarah Harriman each brought in two runs with singles.

After finally ending that inning, and it took a double play by centerfielder Kathryn Whittum to do it, the Greely bats were very quiet over the final three innings.  The only hit was Dani Cimino’s single in the seventh before teammates Elyse Dinan and Eddie Aromando were retired to end the game.

Dani Cimino

Dani Cimino was the star for Greely.  The junior pitched a 5-hitter and allowed no earned runs.  She had the Rangers’ only two hits including a homer over the left centerfield fence in the top of the fourth.

But one bad inning was enough for FA.  And with lefty Sarah Harriman going, runs were going to be hard to come by.

Sarah tossed a 2-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks.  The sophomore had five one-two-three innings.

The Raiders didn’t get a hit until the fourth.  In the third, however, without a hit, they threatened getting two base runners on walks.  A grounder to short ended the inning as Maddy Smith was ruled to have interfered with Greely shortstop Caroline Hamilton as she attempted to field the grounder.

FA catcher Carla Tripp was one of the “walkers” in the third.  She may have fouled off as many as ten pitches before drawing the walk.

Maggie McConkey dives across with first Raider run

Carla’s lengthy at bat in the third and the demise of the Greely defense in the fourth may have taken some of the edge out of Dani Cimino as she pitched long after she should have been cooling off in the dugout.  And this was one of those games in which the heat was a factor.

Shortstop Sydney Charles started a double play in the second for FA.  Second baseman Bri Pelkie made a nice running catch in the 6th inning.

Eight different girls scored for Fryeburg.

Maddie Smith was the only Raider to get two hits.

FA has now won sixteen straight games.

First year coach Sarah Jamo took a team that was 10-8 last season and brought them to the West Regional game with an impressive 16-3 season.  They also defeated Fryeburg Academy earlier in the season.

Sarah Harriman – gave up only two hits

The Old Town Coyotes (16-4) will be in their first Class B title game when they face the Raiders on Saturday morning.  Considering that FA has been there, done it, over the last four years you would have to like their chances.  With Sarah Harriman pitching the Coyotes will struggle to score runs and Old Town had better hope that they don’t struggle on defense the way Greely did.

Taking pictures at Richard Bailey Field was difficult.  At most softball games a photographer can get inside the fence for close-ups and better angles.  Not at this field.  The other option was the press box but the view from there wasn’t a clear look at the entire field.  That’s a whine and I apologize.

Learned from Coach Apt before the game that he grew up on Rings Island in Salisbury (MA) and went two years to Newburyport High School and two years to Triton Regional.  That information seemed quite remarkable to me since I live in Newburyport and I‘m covering a random game in Maine.

(The pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Ranger gathering

Catcher Eddie Aromando fields bunt

Caroline Hamilton

scoreboard

Raider captains with plaque

Raider players start celebrating

Lindsey Arsenault fires to first

ball loose at home

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