CARIBOU, Maine — The Northstars came back from losing game one of the series to win two in a row and capture the Caribou Little League championship over Shop ’n Save.
After the two teams squared off for competitive matchups last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Northstar bats erupted in the deciding game three to easily come through with the title.
The Northstars came into the series as the No. 1 seed in the American Division, while Shop ’n Save was the top seed in the National Division. Both went 2-0 in early-round playoff contests which took place the previous week.
Summaries of the championship series games are as follows:
Shop ’n Save 6, Northstars 5
In the opener, Shop ’n Save scored five times in the bottom of the fifth inning to erase a three-run deficit, and then held on in the sixth inning to secure the nail-biting victory.
The Northstars opened the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI single by Oliver Peterson, which plated Alex Bouchard, who had walked. Riley Bouchard, who had also drawn a walk, came across on a passed ball later in the inning. Emily Adler doubled in the inning, but was stranded on second.
In the bottom of the first, Alex Ezzy hit a triple to the gap in left center, and came in to score on an overthrow to cut the lead in half.
The Northstars scored two more runs in the top of the third inning on an RBI single by Riley Bouchard, and an RBI groundout by Adler.
In Shop ’n Save’s fifth-inning two-out rally, Parker Deprey doubled to score both Damian Hartley, who had walked, and Sawyer Deprey, who had singled. Destinee Goodridge hit a double just inside the left-field line and Alex Picard knocked her in with a single to right field. Finally, Miles Collier drove in Picard with a single.
In the top of the sixth, Alex Bouchard walked for the third time in the game and scored on a passed ball to pull the Northstars within one run. The Northstars then put the tying run on third base and the go-ahead run on second with two outs, but Shop ’n Save’s Sawyer Deprey came in to face the final batter and induced a ground ball to shortstop to end the game.
Ezzy started and pitched 4-2/3 innings for Shop ’n Save, followed by Parker Deprey, who threw one inning and got the win, and Sawyer Deprey, who earned the save.
Splitting the pitching for the Northstars were Alex Bouchard, who went 2-2/3 innings, and Kennith Thompson, who went 2-1/3. The pair combined for 13 strikeouts.
Northstars 4, Shop ’n Save 1
Game Two of the series saw the Northstars score three runs in the first inning and they held Shop’n Save to only three hits to prevail and force a deciding third game.
The Northstars’ two-out, first-inning rally started with an infield error, followed by an RBI single by Thompson and back-to-back RBI doubles by Adler and Carter Quist. Shop ’n Save got a run back in the third inning when Collier hit a lead-off triple and came in to score later in the inning on an error. Shop ’n Save left the bases loaded.
The Northstars got an insurance run in the fifth inning when Alex Bouchard singled and later came across on a double steal. In the final three innings, Shop ’n Save was able to muster two singles from Sawyer Deprey and did not have a runner reach third base.
Pitching for the Northstars, Riley Bouchard kept Shop ’n Save off balance, allowing only the three hits and three walks and one unearned run in 5-1/3 innings of work. Quist came in to finish the game and struck out the final two batters.
For Shop ’n Save, Parker Deprey was the hard-luck loser, pitching a complete game, allowing four runs, only one earned, while striking out eight and walking only one batter.
Northstars 15, Shop ’n Save 4
The Northstars scored six runs in the top of the first to jump out to a quick lead and rolled to a convincing victory over Shop ’n Save to clinch the championship.
The Northstars offense pounded out 12 hits, led by Thompson with a triple, two singles and three RBI. Alex Bouchard, Peterson and Quist also registered multi-hit games with two singles each. Adler added an RBI double and Riley Bouchard and Walker Clark both had a bases-loaded singles to drive in two runs each.
On the mound, starter Alex Bouchard went 4-2/3 innings, striking out 12 and earning the victory. Quist followed and pitched 1-1/3 innings to seal the victory.
Shop ’n Save had seven hits, all singles, with Sawyer Deprey and Parker Deprey each having two. Ezzy and Collier had RBI singles and Ethan Holdsworth notched the other hit. On the mound for Shop ’n Save, Sawyer Deprey pitched the first 3-1/3 innings, followed by Collier, who went the final 2-2/3.
