It has been a remarkable season for the Houlton baseball team as the Shires remain unbeaten on the year with an impressive 15-0 record. Houlton will look to cap its undefeated regular season Wednesday with a 4 p.m. home game against Lee Academy.
Houlton is the top-ranked team in Class C North and will earn a first-round bye for the postseason, which begins Tuesday, June 7. The Shires will host the winner of the No. 8-9 preliminary game (currently Bucksport and Dexter respectively) in the quarterfinals Thursday, June 9, 2016.
In Class D North, Hodgdon (12-2) is currently the No. 2 seed in the region, while Southern Aroostook (6-7) is eighth; Katahdin (4-9) is 10th; and East Grand/GHCA (2-11) is 15th. The top 13 squads make the playoffs.
Preliminary round playoffs begin Tuesday, June 7.
The following is a recap of recent games played through Monday.
Houlton 13, Limestone 0 — At Limestone Monday, Cameron Graham pitched a no-hitter as the Shires rolled to a shutout victory over Limestone. Individual results were not reported.
Deer Isle-Stonington 10, Katahdin 12 — At Stacyville Saturday, playing the first game of a doubleheader, Brody Guiggey recorded three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Cougars by the Mariners. Cooper Drew chipped in with a hit and an RBI and was the winning pitcher of record.
Silas Bates notched two hits and drove in two runs for the Mariners while Ethan Shepard chipped in with two hits.
Deer Isle-Stonington 13, Katahdin 9 — In the second game of the doubleheader, Mason Oliver and Ethan Shepard each notched two hits and three RBIs to power the Mariners past the Cougars.
Devin McGraw sparked Katahdin with three hits and two RBIs, while Tyson Porter chipped in with two hits and two RBIs.
Central Aroostook 3, Hodgdon 13 — At Hodgdon Friday, Sam Horton pitched the win for the Hawks, allowing just two hits, with three strikeouts. Horton had two singles and stole two bases to aid his mound effort.
Also for the Hawks, Andrew Tuttle delivered an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to seal the victory for the Hawks. Jimmy Buzzell singled, doubled, stole four bases and scored two runs. Jordyn Merritt tripled, singled and scored two runs, with two stolen bases. Dillon Buzzell doubled and singled, while scoring two runs.
Hodgdon scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game via the mercy rule.
For Central Aroostook, Ben Thomas and Dane Kingsbury each doubled.
Houlton 14, Calais 3 — The Shires rolled to the double-digit victory over Calais. Individual results were not reported.
Schenck 3, Katahdin 13 — At Stacyville Thursday, Porter threw a complete-game three-hitter to lead Katahdin past Schenck. Porter walked seven and struck out seven while allowing two earned runs.
Brody Guiggey went 4-for-4, including a triple, and drove in two runs. Derek Atkinson had a double with three RBI’s.
For the Wolverines, Matt Bossie had two hits and an RBI.
Houlton 10, Presque Isle 9 — At Presque Isle May 24, Billy Phillips smacked a home run, a double and a single to lead Houlton past the Wildcats. Connor Grant added three singles to support Ryan Dee, who pitched a complete game for the win.
For Presque Isle, Nick Bartlett paced the offense with a home run and single while Caleb Nadeau and Sam Gray had two hits each.
