‘Cardiac Kids’ took long, hard road

Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
    Head coach Joe Porter rallies his Houlton troops, clockwise from left, Garrett Putnam, Ryan Dee, Garrett Ring, Payton Porter, Nick Cowperthwaite and Ben Tuttle, during Saturday’s tough District 3 9-10 Little League championship loss to Bangor East.
     The Houlton All-stars are one of two teams left in the original 14-team double-elimination District 3 Little League Tournament.
Contributed photo/Terri Ring
Playing baseball this summer for the Little League District 3 9-10 runners-up Houlton team were, from left, front row, Matt Tuttle, Cameron Graham, Ben Tuttle, Jacob Brown and Connor Grant. Back row, Nick Botting, Tyler Brown, Ryan Dee, Garrett Ring, Nicholas Cowperthwaite, Garrett Putnam, Parker Brewer and Payton Porter.
   The Houlton All-Stars defeated Lincoln, 15-14, last Thursday to advance to the District 3 Championship game against undefeated (4-0) Bangor East in Bangor last Saturday. The winner of Houlton/Bangor East will represent District 3 in the state tournament in Augusta on July 26-27.
    The self-called “cardiac kids” of Houlton (6-1) came from behind in their third straight game to edge a pesky Lincoln team, who finished with a record of 3-2. Houlton faced hard-throwing lefty, Trevor Delaite from Lincoln, who was able to quiet Houlton’s bats over the first two innings, said Houlton coach Joe Porter.
    Lincoln scored three times to open the game, and tacked on a run in the second inning for a quick 4-0 lead.
     Houlton broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the third when Connor Grant and Cameron Graham led off the inning with singles to put runners on first and second. Garrett Ring followed with another base hit to drive in Grant.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
Bangor East scores the winning run Saturday as Houlton catcher Nicholas Cowperthwaite pulls in the throw.
    After a passed ball, runners stood at second and third and Ryan Dee hit a two-out fly ball to right that the rightfielder dropped, allowing both Graham and Ring to score, making it 4-3.
     Lincoln countered with four runs in the top of the fourth, pushing their lead to 8-3. But, the big blow was a two-run triple by Delaite, who eventually scored on a single by Scottie Jipson.
    But not fazed, the Houlton All-stars mounted a comeback in the bottom of the fourth after Delaite allowed the first three batters to reach on a walk and two hit batsmen. He was replaced by Dakota Batchelder, who proceeded to walk the next three batters with the bases-loaded to cut into the score, 8-6.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
    Shire shortstop Garrett Putnam chase down a fly ball to shallow leftfield.
    Lincoln allowed the next six batters to reach with a combination of three walks, two errors, and a fielder’s choice to give Houlton an 11-8 advantage. But before the inning was done, Houlton’s Ring, Garrett Putnam, and Ben Tuttle collected three consecutive RBI singles to bring the score to 14-8, as Houlton sent 16 batters to the plate, while erupting for 11 runs.
    In the top of the fifth, Lincoln clawed back with four runs, with Delaite and Jipson again providing the offensive spark with run-scoring singles, as Lincoln pulled to with a couple of runs, 14-12.
    Houlton tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Lincoln threatened in the final inning. In the top of the sixth, Lincoln’s Trevor Sutherland led off with a triple, followed by Delaite’s RBI double. Delaite then scored on a throwing error, as Lincoln cut the lead, 15-14.
    After a one-out walk, Ring came in relief of Parker Brewer. Ring walked the first batter he faced, putting runners on first and second. But, the next batter popped up to Putnam for the second out and then Ring struck out the final batter to win the game for Houlton.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
    Second baseman Garrett Ring relays a throw to Ryan Dee as a Bangor runner slides into third.      Houlton received a gutsy performance from their four pitchers, starting right-hander Putnam, followed by Graham (who earned the win), Brewer and Ring (who earned the save). Another player, who according to coach Porter deserves recognition, is catcher Dee.
    “Ryan caught the entire game behind the plate on a hot evening in Bangor, and received 188 pitches from Houlton pitchers,” Porter said.
    The Houlton team defeated Hermon last Wednesday, 20-12, to avoid elimination.
    The comeback kids from Houlton erased a 10-3 Hermon lead after three innings by scoring six runs in the fourth and another nine runs in the fifth inning to pull away from a good Hermon team (3-2). The Houlton All-stars avenged their only loss of the tournament.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
Ben Tuttle brings on the heat in relief while Payton Porter holds down first for Houlton.
    Houlton pounded out 16 hits en route to the victory. The big hit of the game came in the fifth inning, when birthday boy (celebrating his 10th birthday) Graham rocked an inside-the-park grand slam to complete the nine-run explosion.
     Putnam and Dee each banged out three hits with three RBIs apiece. Grant hit a two-run triple and added a third RBI on a base-loaded walk. Ring and Nick Cowperthwaite each contributed two hits, while Brewer added an RBI double.
     Earning the win for Houlton was Cowperthwaite, who came in relief of Tuttle in the third inning, limiting Hermon to only two runs after the third inning.
    Last Tuesday, the Houlton squad defeated Bangor West, 5-4 in extra innings in an exciting ballgame decided on a walk-off RBI single by Cowperthwaite in the bottom of the seventh inning.
     This was a classic pitching duel between Houlton’s Dee and Bangor West starter Connor Smith, said Porter.
Contributed photo/Terri Ring
Pitcher Nick Cowperthwaite, left, puts his game face on during a prelim game against Holbrook.
    Bangor West jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first, on a leadoff hit, two errors and a two-out, run-scoring single from Derek Fournier. Bangor West added two more runs in the third, after Peter Kemble reached on an error and Kyle Stevenson hit a single to right. Kemble scored on a throwing error on the hit, and Stevenson scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-0.
    Dee settled down and retired the next 10 batters he faced in order, pitching 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven Bangor West hitters.
     Smith for Bangor West was able to keep Houlton off the scoreboard through the first four innings, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first. In the fourth inning, he was able to hold off Houlton’s attack with the help of an inning ending catch by Bangor West’s rightfielder, Andrew Worcester, off the bat of Houlton’s Grant with two runners on.
     Houlton finally reached Bangor in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs to tie the score at 4-all. Ring started the rally with a one-out catcher interference, with Putnam following with a clean single to left, putting runners on first and second.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
Houlton second baseman Garrett Ring is taken out of the play by a sliding Bangor player.
    Bangor West brought in Jake Wilson in relief of Smith. After a wild pitch, Tuttle walked to load the bases. All three runners scored on wild pitches, as Houlton climbed closer, 4-3. After Dee walked, he was able to score on another eventual wild pitch to knot the game.
    Putnam pitching in relief, earned the win for Houlton, retiring Bangor West in order in the top of the sixth, with the help of a diving stop by shortstop Dee on a wicked ground ball headed for a sure hit.
    Bangor West was able to hold Houlton in the bottom of the sixth without a run, forcing the first extra inning game of the tournament. Putnam struck out the first two batters in the top of the seventh, then ran into trouble with two straight walks and an error that loaded the bases.
    Bangor West’s Kyle Stevenson hit a hard grounder to second that was stabbed by Ring, who tagged the runner advancing from first to end the threat.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
A determined Ryan Dee delivers a pitch during the early innings Saturday at Bangor.
     In the bottom of the seventh, Dee led off the inning with a bloop single to right, completing a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate. After a passed ball allowed him to advance to second, Cowperthwaite hit a line drive to left-center scoring Dee without a throw, as Bangor West finished at 3-2.