by Ken Hixon
Special to the Aroostook Republican and News
OAKLAND, Maine — Dreams came true when 11 local Little League players were lucky enough to extend their baseball season Aug. 24 and 25 by playing at Fenway Park — Little Fenway that is.
For the second consecutive year, Pat Bither of New Sweden was asked to manage a Little League All-Star team to participate in an invitational tournament to be held in Kennebec County. Known as Little Fenway, this Little League-regulation ballpark is a two-thirds replica of the Red Sox home in Boston. Complete with the towering Green Monster, centerfield bleachers, right field bullpens, quirky angles and even a Pesky pole, players and fans alike could easily be convinced they were in Boston. True magic happened at night. The smell of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers from the snack shack drifting through the stands along with the shadows of the lights provided an extra Fenway magic. Each game was officiated by certified umpires, providing a major league experience for all.
The main focus of this tournament is to select Little League players who have displayed sportsmanship and high character and bring them together to have fun playing some great baseball. This invitation-only tournament consisted of four regional teams. Bither, a veteran Caribou Little League manager of the Northstars of Stockholm, extended an invitation to Little League players from Presque Isle in order to form a team representing our region.
Known as the Northern Aroostook All-Stars, team members included Caribou’s Alex Bouchard, Camden Huck, Jacob Ouellette, Carter Quist, Noah Hixon, Austin Findlen, Carter Moir and Josh Quist and Presque Isle’s Jonah Hudson, Jaren Winger, and Cole Paterson. Ed Christie, Eric McGough and Ken Hixon served as Bither’s coaches.
The three other teams participating were the Bangor Sluggers, Old Town and Mount Desert Island.
In Northern Aroostook’s first game, Winger took the mound to face a tough Old Town team while Hudson donned the catcher’s gear. Hudson led off with a single followed by another single from Bouchard. Ouellette put the Aroostook All-Stars on the scoreboard by driving in Hudson on a single. In the third inning, Hudson singled again this time followed by a single from Winger. On a 0-2 count, Huck crushed the ball for a double to drive in two more runs. In the fifth, Quist ripped a single and Hudson added one more single to go 3 for 3 in the contest.
Winger struck out the first six batters he faced and Huck came in as relief pitcher for the last two innings. They totaled 14 strikeouts and limited Old Town to only one run and no hits in the 3-1 victory.
Later that afternoon, the Northern Aroostook All-Stars played their second game against the rugged Bangor Sluggers. Bouchard took the mound and his Caribou teammate Hixon worked behind the plate. Hudson led off with a walk and was soon followed by Winger with another walk. Both runners crossed the plate on a Huck double before Hixon drove Huck home on a single. Running home on a wild pitch, Hixon slid under the pitcher’s tag to give the local squad a quick 4-0 lead.
Bouchard drew a walk in the second inning followed by a single by Huck. On the first pitch, Hixon sent Bouchard home with a single. The Sluggers answered in the third with two runs generated from walks, but Bouchard settled down in the fourth and fifth innings to retire the next six batters. In the fourth inning, Bouchard led off with a single and was driven home on a hard-hit double by Winger. Hixon used a walk and smart base running to generate another run. In the fifth, Findlen singled, stole second base and crossed the plate on another Hudson single.
Josh Quist took the mound for Northern Aroostook in the bottom of the sixth. The Bangor Sluggers turned a walk and two singles, their only hits of the game, into two more runs, but it wasn’t enough as the Aroostook team finished on top, 8-4.
In the night game, Hudson tossed to his Presque Isle teammate Jaren Winger behind the plate. This strategy proved successful as the MDI team came to play. In the first inning, Bouchard singled followed by a long triple off the bat of Winger. Huck singled to drive in Winger and give Aroostook a 2-0 early lead. MDI answered with a leadoff single and turned it into a run.
In the fourth, the northern bats exploded for nine runs. Hixon led off with a double hit deep to the center field triangle. Carter Quist outran the throw on a dropped third strike followed by a single by Ouellette, a Findlen double, a single by Paterson, a double by Hudson and consecutive singles by Bouchard, Winger, Huck and Hixon.
MDI answered with three runs, but failed to score another for the remainder of the game. In the fifth inning, Findlen, Carter Quist, Hudson and Huck all singled to give the Aroostook team a 14-5 lead. Eight more runs were added in the sixth with a triple by Bouchard, two singles by Josh Quist and singles by Hudson, Huck, Hixon, Findlen and Carter Quist highlighting the rally for a 22-5 victory. Moir took the mound for the last inning and did a fine job to preserve the victory. The game ended at 11:45 p.m. and the first-place 3-0 Northern Aroostook All-Stars were set to play second place Old Town (2-1) in the Aug. 25 championship game.
Hudson started on the mound and Hixon was behind the plate. Old Town jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when their first batter crushed the ball over the Green Monster, followed by two more singles. Although the Aroostook team failed to score in the first three innings, Hudson retired six of the next eight batters and kept Old Town scoreless in the second and third innings.
Huck connected in the fourth for a triple and had a great slide to score on a wild pitch and give his team its first run. Carter Quist, Ouellette and Moir each walked to load the bases, but the Northern Aroostook team left them stranded and still trailed, 3-1.
Hudson maxed out his pitch count and the ball was handed to Jaren Winger to start the fourth. He escaped the inning without giving up a run despite loading the bases. Trailing 3-1 in the top of the fifth, Hudson tapped out a single and Bouchard battled for a walk. They advanced to second and third before Huck hit a long single to tie the game. Hixon drove Huck in to put the Aroostook team up, 4-3.
Once more, the local squad demonstrated patience at the plate as Carter Quist, who also had a gold glove performance at second base throughout the tournament, had a long at bat allowing Hixon to eventually make it home on a very close play at the plate for a 5-3 advantage.
Winger struck out the first batter he faced in the fifth but allowed the next batter to reach base on a single. This runner eventually scored on fielding errors to trim the Aroostook lead to only one run. The next Old Town batter reached base on a walk, stole second and then reached third. With a runner on third and with only a one-run lead, Winger stayed focused and recorded a strikeout. The next batter hit the first pitch to shallow center and it appeared certain that Old Town would get another run, but center fielder Ouellette quickly gathered the ball on one hop and threw to Bouchard, who then drilled the ball home where Hixon applied the tag for an extremely close 8-6-2 inning-ending play.
After Winger maxed out on pitches, with a 5-4 lead and a championship on the line, Huck was given the ball in the sixth and he proceeded to strike out the side in order, despite going to full counts on all three batters, to give Northern Aroostook the title.
Aroostook County should be very proud of these boys, who displayed not only great talent but great sportsmanship too. It was also great to see Caribou and Presque Isle come together to make Fenway dreams come true for area youth and it is hoped this will become an annual tradition.
