With rain yesterday, the playoff games for Houlton baseball and the East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy softball squad were cancelled. Hodgdon and Katahdin were slated to play their games with Schenck and Shead, respectively.
The No. 6 Houlton Shiretowners (11-3) will host No. 11 Piscataquis (7-9) today at 4 p.m. at Community Park. The winner of this game will advance to the quarterfinal game to meet No. 3 Mattanawcook Academy scheduled for Thursday, June 11.
The No. 9 East Grand/GHCA (8-6) preliminary softball game has been rescheduled to today at 3 p.m. against No. 8 Ashland (10-6).
In Class D, the Southern Aroostook Warriors are atop the standings with a 13-2 record and will await the winner of No. 8 Bangor Christian (9-7) and No. 9 Woodland (9-6). The Warriors’ quarterfinal game is set for Thursday at 1 p.m. in Dyer Brook.
“This year, Class D is full of good teams all the way to the 13th seed,” said SACS coach David Day. “ In my opinion any team in Class D has a chance to reach the final. Teams like Bangor Christian, PVHS and Woodland … which are in the middle of the pack, have strong schedules, including Class B and C teams. Stearns, which is in the second spot, just in Class D for the second year, still maintains a heavy Class C schedule.
“Ashland and Hodgdon, third and fifth, are two teams we split with during the regular season,” Day added. “ Ashland’s team is full of upper classmen, who are poised to do well, and Hodgdon, who has some young players, are well coached and can also make some noise.”
Last year, the Warriors were ranked first, but the outcome was not as expected.
“Placing first, two years in a row, is a nice accomplishment, but the kids understand it is a ‘new season’ where every team has no wins and no losses,” said Day. “ The kids are focused on that premise because we don’t want history to repeat itself after losing in the quarterfinal last year.
“I am very proud of the way kids have responded this year,” he added. “With a roster of only 12, they have had to step up and play multiple positions. On one hand it is a tribute to the kids, but also a double-edged sword because we have struggled a bit defensively.”
Day has had five players working in six positions and three members have played seven positions, with one playing all nine positions this year.
“Defensively, believe or not, it is still a work in progress, but it is not lacking hard work and enthusiasim,” he said.
Day said for his team to be successful in the playoffs, they need to keep playing their game offensively by putting pressure on teams with their running game and situational advantages.
“We create when the opportunity arises,” said Day “We run … teams know that … and we want them to know that. One incredible statistic is that we have 174 stolen bases and only have been thrown out three times. So we know that every single, walk or a miscue by our opponent … is automatically a double.
“We know that defensively we need to bring it to the next level … if we can focus on that, hopefully we can keep playing for a while,” added Day.
The No. 11 Katahdin Cougars (5-9) traveled to No. 6 Shead (13-2) yesterday for their Class D playoff game. The winner moves on to the quarterfinals to be played on Thursday in Ashland against the No. 3 Hornets (11-5).
The No. 5 Hawks (8-6) hosted the No. 12 Schenck Wolverines (6-10) yesterday, with the winner moving to the Class D quarterfinals on Thursday against the No. 4 Beavers (10-4) in Washburn.
