Houlton all-stars face elimination

The Houlton Water Company 11-12-year-old all-stars will have to battle back from the losers’ bracket of the District 3 Little League All-star Tournament after falling to undefeated Bangor East, 4-1 on Monday.
Houlton (2-1) played yesterday against Lincoln (3-1), which eliminated Millinocket 7-2.
On Monday, Bangor East (3-0) held a 2-0 lead over five innings, adding two more runs in the top of the sixth, with Houlton scoring their only run in the bottom of the sixth on a Garrett Ring double. Bangor East outhit Houlton, 10-6, with Houlton making three errors to Bangor East’s one in the game.
Other hitters for Houlton were Ryan Dee who singled twice, while Ben Tuttle and Ben Boutilier each doubled.
The Houlton all-stars defeated Hermon (1-1) by a score of 6-4 in hard-fought battle on Tuesday, July 6.
Houlton jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first with two timely doubles. After a lead-off hit by Tuttle, and a walk to Garrett Putnam, Bill Phillips hit a one-out double to left-center field to score Tuttle and Putnam. Nick Cowperthwaite followed with a fielder’s choice and a walk to Boutilier set up a two-run double off the bat of Parker Brewer.
The score remained the same until the top of the third when Hermon scored a lone run after catcher Corbin Sherman hit a double and eventually scored on a wild pitch to close the gap to 4-1. Hermon was threatening to score again with a runner on, when Houlton’s catcher, Cowperthwaite picked off Hermon’s Tyler Beaton at first base with a perfect relay from Brewer to Tuttle at second base to end the threat.
After Houlton failed to score in the bottom of the third, Hermon added three more runs in the top of the fourth. Eric Hoogterp doubled and then scored on Bryce Heephia’s two-run home run. Hunter Clukey followed with a double and scored on Matt Leach’s double to tie the score at 4-4.
With the score tied 4-4, Houlton was finally able to break through with two runs off Hermon’s starting pitcher, Hunter Clukey, who after a rocky first inning, held Houlton scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. Putnam led off the inning with a triple and then scored on Dee’s RBI-single. An error in centerfield allowed Dee to move to third. Matt Tuttle came up and hit a pinch-hit RBI single to give Houlton a 6-4 edge.
In the top of the sixth, Dee finished his complete game masterpiece, with a strikeout and two infield popups to give Houlton the win. Dee finished the game with seven strikeouts and earned his second straight all-star win.