Dee fires a no-hitter; senior league readies for all-star series

    The Houlton Area Senior League is 7-5 on the year and will begin their all-star series on Aug. 4 at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.
    The winner of the district gets an automatic bid to the Senior League World Series.
    To finish the year, Houlton split with Sebasticook Valley of Newport in a double header in the Shiretown on July 20.
    Houlton lost the first game, despite a grand slam from Dan Howe, who also singled. Hunter Hanning and Will McGary both added two singles, while Gage Hunt singled and had two stolen bases.
     In the second game, 14-year-old Ryan Dee was called up to aid the pitching staff. Dee went on to pitch a complete game no-hitter, as he only walked two and struck out four. Dee did not allow a hit out of the infield, as Houlton won 12-0.
    Helping Dee’s cause were Jake Drew with four singles, Hanning, McGary and Dee added two singles each. Noah Holmes, Howe and Nick Hagan each singled. Ethan Bouchard did an exceptional job catching the no-hitter, said coach Jamie Hunt.
    Playing in the 14-16-year-old age division are Gage Hunt, Kole Buzzeo, Jake Drew, Dan Howe, Hunter Hanning, Will McGary, Trent Cullinan, Alex Gilpin, Nick Hagan, Noah Holmes, Jacob Carter, Ethan Bouchard, Dylan Porter and Isaiah Straubel.
    The team is sponsored by the Dunn family of Houlton.
    “Without support from families and businesses such as the Dunns, opportunities for our youth would be impossible,” said Hunt. “Our regular season and all-star opponents are all Class A and B towns. They are able to combine their regular season teams to form their all-star teams. We do not have that luxury, however, our record shows that we have competed very well against these much larger towns.”
     The team is also coached by Jim Castner and Dennis Hagan.