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| Contributed photo/jMavor Photography Chandler Bell of S.W. Collins makes a late tag on Sleepers’ Jay Belanger, while Devin White looks on during last Tuesday’s game one of the Caribou Little League championship. Sleepers won the game and went on to sweep the series two nights later. |
CARIBOU — Sleepers won its second consecutive Caribou Little League championship and its third in four years by taking two games from a young and talented S.W. Collins squad. Sleepers won last Tuesday’s opening game, 17-14, before notching a convincing 19-3 win on Thursday.
Sleepers raced out to an early 7-0 lead in game one. However, S.W. Collins came storming back with a single run in the second and a big six-run third inning to tie the game at the midway point.
Sleepers added three runs over the fourth and fifth innings against a single run by the Collins crew to take a 10-8 lead headed to the final frame. In the sixth, Sleepers broke the game open with seven runs as Hayden Hunter singled and doubled, Brandon Manter had a three-run double and Jake Ouellette and Jay Belanger doubled.
Trailing 17-8, S.W. Collins waged a comeback by scoring six runs on clutch hits by Sydney Thompson, Dagan Savage and Tyler Wright, before Sleepers recorded the final out to claim a hard-fought victory and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
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| Contributed photo/jMavor Photography Camden Huck delivers a pitch for Sleepers in Tuesday’s win. |
Offensively, Sleepers was led by Camden Huck, who hit two home runs over the fence to go with a triple and double and seven RBI in an amazing offensive performance. Hunter, who got the win, pitched 3 and 2/3 innings of solid relief and was 4 for 5 at the plate, scoring three times. Manter also went 4 for 5, Jacob Ouellette was 2 for 4 and Keegan Cogswell continued to hit well by going 2 for 2 at the plate.
Defensively, the Sleepers team turned a nifty 5-3-1 double play, getting the out at home plate and squelching a potential Collins rally.
For S.W. Collins, Thompson was most impressive with an opposite-field home run and two other hits. She was complimented by Hope Shea, who tagged a triple and a single, while Savage and Wright had two hits apiece and Caleb Espling singled.
Two nights later, the two teams met up again for game two. Both teams had top pitchers on the hill, with Huck going for Sleepers and Thompson for S.W. Collins. The Sleepers team would leave no doubt in this one as they put up six runs in the first two innings and never looked back, cruising to the victory.
Huck was impressive on the mound as he gave up just two hits and struck out 13 batters in 4 and 1/3 innings. Manter came on in relief to get the final five outs.
Huck was again a leader offensively going a perfect 4 for 4 with two doubles and two triples. Ouellette, playing in his final game in a Sleepers’ uniform, also had four hits, including a triple while playing outstanding defensively behind the plate. Belanger and Devin White had three hits each while Cogswell added two more. Manter and Brandon Jalbert each had a hit while Hunter had a base hit and 4 RBI on three sacrifice hits. Sleepers, representing the American League, finished with a 17-1 record.
S.W. Collins was led by Thompson’s two doubles, Wright’s two singles and a single by Savage. Defensively, nine-year-old Espling made several nice plays at third base, while Shea covered lots of ground in center field and making a nice catch on a deep drive by Huck early in the game. S.W. Collins, the National League champs, ended a very successful season at 12-6.
