MARS HILL, Maine — It has been somewhat of a strange season so far for the Central Aroostook Panthers.
The team has played six contests and has won all their road games while losing all their home games. The Panthers’ latest victory was the most significant, taking place Saturday against a Limestone-MSSM that came in riding a 37-game regular season winning streak dating back to 2012.
Central Aroostook coach Ryan Guerrette, beginning his fifth season, hopes to take the momentum of that win and carry it into the remainder of the season.
“We have to get consistent pitching and play good defense,” Guerrette said. “Class D should be very competitive. I think Limestone-MSSM is still probably the best team and Stearns should be a contender. After that, you can toss a coin with us and four or five other teams.”
The Panthers have three senior starters and two juniors who bring plenty of experience. After that, nine sophomores and freshmen make up the rest of the roster.
“We’re pretty young, so our season will depend on how our younger players adapt to playing at the varsity level,” Guerrette said.
Senior center fielder Whitnie Bradbury batted .580 last year and drove in 39 runs and is a key returnee along with junior pitcher Karli Levesque (.560, 33 RBIs), junior third baseman Sheratin Kelly (.600, 35 RBIs) and sophomore shortstop Kelsey Dominique (.410).
The rest of the starting lineup includes senior left fielder Jordan Canney, freshman right fielder Kassie Levesque, freshman second baseman Isabelle Wright, freshman first baseman Caitlyn Harris, freshman catcher Keara McCrum and senior designated player Carly Grass.
Karli Levesque, who went 7-4 on the mound last year, will be backed up by Grass and Harris, who is a lefthander.
Freshmen Maranda Anthony and Jessica Thomas and sophomores Jayden Giberson and Erica Watson will fill in where needed. Natalie Gillen and Allyssa Decker are the managers and Rachael Grew is back for her third season as Guerrette’s assistant coach.
