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| Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg Ecstatic Fort Fairfield players rush teammate Jon Bernard after he drove in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning of last Wednesday’s Aroostook County 10-12 year-old baseball championship game against Caribou. From left are Dylan Jandreau, Ryan Player, Dawson Watson, Ethan Cassidy, Malcolm Langner and Jared Harvey. |
Tops Caribou by scoring six runs in final at-bat
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
CARIBOU – All seven Fort Fairfield batters reached base in the bottom of the sixth inning as the team erased a five-run deficit and beat Caribou, 13-12, in the finals of the 10-12 year-old Aroostook County baseball tournament.
The single-elimination event, sponsored by the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association, featured eight teams. The championship game was held last Wednesday, Aug. 1, with the opening rounds taking place two days earlier on July 30. All games took place at the Caribou Little League complex.
Fort’s winning rally began with a walk drawn by Malcolm Langner. Dawson Watson followed with a bunt single before Ethan Cassidy also walked to load the bases.
Chris Gill, the team’s No. 9 hitter, then reached on an infield error to drive in one run. An RBI infield hit by Ryan Player preceded a triple down the first base line by Dylan Jandreau which cleared the bases and tied the score. Jon Bernard then laced a line drive single up into center field to bring in Jandreau for the game-winner.
Fort Fairfield held a 2-0 lead after the first inning, as Player led off with a double and Jandreau walked. Player scored on a wild pitch and Jandreau came in on a groundout by Bernard.
Caribou grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the second, thanks to consecutive hits by Dan Randolph, Sebastian Marquis and Rachel Soucy (2 RBI) to start the inning and a fielder’s choice RBI grounder by Seth Roy.
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| Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg Caribou second baseman Seth Roy makes a play from his knees for an assist in last Wednesday’s championship baseball game in the 10-12 year-old County baseball tournament. Caribou fell to Fort Fairfield, 13-12. |
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| Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg Jared Harvey of Fort Fairfield gets congratulated at home plate by teammate Jonas Armstrong after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of last Wednesday’s Aroostook County 10-12 baseball championship game against Caribou. |
The hosts made it 4-2 in the third when Randolph singled and scored on a throwing error, but Player singled and scored on a wild pitch in the third to draw FF within a run.
The two teams scored three runs each in the fourth. Caribou benefited from a pair of infield errors before getting an RBI single from Matt Nadeau and a two-run, two-out single down the first base line by Randolph.
FF answered in its half as Jared Harvey blasted a long home run over the center field fence to start things. Jonas Armstrong was hit by a pitch and Langner walked, with Armstrong scoring on a wild pitch and Langner being plated on an RBI groundout off the bat of Gill to make it 7-6, with Caribou still in front.
Each team scored single runs in the fifth. Soucy singled, moved to second on an outfield error and to third on a passed ball before scoring on an infield error for Caribou’s run. FF got their run when Player had a lead-off single and eventually scored on a Bernard RBI groundout.
Caribou took a 12-7 lead by scoring four times in the top of the sixth. All nine hitters in the lineup made plate appearances during the frame. Nadeau, Randolph, Marquis, Soucy and Noah McCarthy all had singles, with Randolph’s and McCarthy’s both producing runs.
However, FF then mounted its improbable come-from-behind win in the bottom half of the inning.
Cassidy, who came on to pitch the sixth after Langner went the first five, was credited with the pitching victory. The two combined for nine strikeouts. FF had eight hits in the game, four by Player. Defensively, the team committed five errors.
For Caribou, Randolph and Soucy both went 4 for 4 to lead the squad’s 15-hit attack. Nadeau, who was the starting pitcher, added three hits and Marquis chipped in with a pair. Randolph took the loss on the mound after coming on in relief of Nadeau with two outs in the fourth inning. The two combined to fan eight FF batters. Caribou made three errors in the contest.
Also competing in the tournament were Ashland, Limestone, Mapleton, Mars Hill, Presque Isle and St. Agatha.
