HOULTON, Maine — Local baseball teams have been firing on all cylinders lately as evidenced by a number of lopsided scores.
Houlton (5-1) has rattled off five straight wins and is currently fourth in the Class C North standings. During that five game stretch, the Shires, under coach Jim Castner, have outscored the opposition 59-14.
In Class D North, Katahdin (4-0) is the top-ranked team. The Cougars, led by coach Tim Thoreson, have outscored opponents 51-17. Also in Class D, Southern Aroostook (2-2) is ranked third, while Hodgdon (4-2) is sixth and East Grand (0-4) is 15th.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Hodgdon 25, East Grand 6 — At Danforth Monday, Ben Tuttle homered and doubled three times, while scoring four runs as Hodgdon cruised past East Grand. Wyatt Foster hit two doubles, a single, drove in four runs and scored three more for the Hawks.
Peter Apgar paced East Grand with three singles and two runs.
Houlton 17 Lee Academy 1 — At Lee, the Shires scored early and often, plating five runs in the top of the first inning and adding six more in the third to easily beat Lee Academy.
Isia Bouchard had a double and three singles for Houlton, while Cameron Graham doubled and singled.
Nathan Gilman, Howie Francis and Asish Nayan each singled for the Pandas (2-5).
Hodgdon 11, Central Aroostook 1 — At Hodgdon Friday, Ben Tuttle allowed just one hit, while striking out 14 and aided his cause by singling, tripling, driving in four runs and scoring four times as the Hawks rolled past Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.
Dillan Buzzell doubled in two runs and contributed a pair of run-scoring singles for Hodgdon.
Ben Thomas singled and scored for Central Aroostook.
Houlton 12, LCS/MSSM 0 — At Houlton Friday, the host Shires won their fourth consecutive game behind Tyler Bailey’s two-hit shutout. Colby Callnan had three RBIs for 4-1 Houlton, while Alex Sprague and Karter Whitman had hits for the 0-2 Eagles.
Katahdin 9, Southern Aroostook 8 — At Dyer Brook May 4, Caleb Giles collected a double and a single as Katahdin of Stacyville held on for the win. Blake Howes plated two runs with a single for the Cougars.
Hunter Walker paced Southern Aroostook with two singles and four RBIs. Nolan Altvater doubled and singled to drive in a pair.
Houlton 13, Presque Isle 3 — At Houlton May 4, Houlton scored 10 runs in the sixth, capped off with a Dylan Johnston walk-off, two-run double as the Shires bested Presque Isle in six innings under the mercy rule. Cameron Graham recorded three hits and scored three runs for the Shiretowners. Nick Perfitt singled twice to drive in two runs while Colby Callnan knocked in three runs.
Bradley Kinney singled twice and scored for Presque Isle.
Hodgdon 5, Southern Aroostook 19 — At Dyer Brook Tuesday, individual results were not reported.
Pioneer Times photos/Joseph Cyr