BOSTON — Joshua Thomas savored his chance to step onto the green grass at Fenway Park on June 25.
“The stadium was cool,” said the 14-year-old son of Matthew and Linda Thomas of Mars Hill. “It was fun to see it all and I was excited I could be there.”
The Thomas family earned the opportunity to visit the home stadium of the Boston Red Sox when Joshua garnered a top-three placement in New England following his performance at a sectional Scotts Pitch, Hit and Run competition held in Mars Hill June 4. His older brother, Ben, also qualified for Boston two years ago.
Joshua Thomas of Mars Hill placed third in the region for his age group in the Scott’s Pitch, Hit and Run competition, held at Fenway Park in Boston on Saturday, June 24. (Kevin Sjoberg)
At the sectional event, Joshua Thomas compiled a score of 1,060 to win his age group but had to await a call from Pitch, Hit and Run officials letting him know he had qualified to make the trip to Boston.
The competition features three parts — being timed running from second base to home plate, pitching for accuracy, and hitting off a tee for distance and accuracy. Rainy weather in Boston forced a makeshift competition as Thomas was able to hit on the main field, but had to ran around the fence at the ballpark and pitch in a makeshift area set aside by the concessions.
Thomas finished behind his two competitors, one from southern Maine and the other from Massachusetts, but still said he had a good experience. He and his family were treated to free tickets to that evening’s Red Sox game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Thomas is a rising freshman at Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School and plans to play soccer, basketball and baseball for the Panthers.
