Baseball squad eases past MH
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
CARIBOU — Presque Isle used strong pitching and hitting to gain a convincing 13-1 win over Mars Hill in the finals of the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association 10-12 year-old baseball tournament, held at the Caribou Little League fields last Wednesday.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
DOMINANT — Presque Isle’s Jaren Winger excelled on the mound, tossing a no-hitter and striking out 17 Mars Hill batters in the finals, during the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association 10-12 year-old baseball tournament held in Caribou last Wednesday. Presque Isle beat Mars Hill 13-1 to win the championship. 
Jaren Winger dominated on the mound for the winners, fanning 17 batters and not allowing a single hit.
On offense, PI rallied for eight runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth.
Mars Hill scored a run in the first as Josh Thomas walked and came across after teammate Ben Delong was thrown out at second attempting to steal.
In the top of the third, PI sent 12 batters to the plate during the big rally. Conner DeMerchant reached on an error and Carter Rice and Torey Levesque each walked before Will Bridges made it to first on a fielder’s choice. Jonah Hudson ripped a two-run single, Seth Roy singled, Cole Paterson was hit by a pitch and Jake Stevens and Riley Roderick followed with hits, with Stevens driving in a run on his.
PI put the game away in the top of the fourth as Levesque walked, Bridges singled and Hudson doubled in two more runs. After Winger walked, Paterson notched a one-out single. Roderick singled later in the frame to cap the big inning.
Hudson ended up with three hits, while Bridges, Winger and Buckley notched two apiece.
Presque Isle had beaten Fort Fairfield, 12-0, in its only other game of the five-team, single-elimination tournament. Winger blasted a pair of home runs and Hudson had three hits.
Roy and Colby Buckley had doubles and Levesque singled for the winners.
On the mound, Hudson and Andrew Hewitt combined on the no-hitter, striking out 11. Neither allowed a walk.
Mars Hill reached the finals by topping Caribou, 5-4. Grayson McKenney scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth for Mars Hill, which received a strong pitching performance from Ben Thomas.
Jacob Ouellette and Austin Findlen did the pitching for Caribou. Benoit Levesque had three hits and Sebastian Marquis had two for Caribou.
Mapleton and Caribou squared off in the lone quarterfinal game, with Caribou coming up with a 15-5 win behind three hits apiece by Jacob Soucy, Cullin Caverhill, Jacob Ouellette and Hayden Hunter.
