HOULTON, Maine — It has been a spring to cherish for the Houlton baseball team as the Shires capped an unbeaten regular season on June 1 and are now eyeing a lengthy playoff push.
Despite the unblemished record, Houlton (16-0) finished as the No. 2 seed in Class C North, just 1.7188 points behind top-ranked George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill. The Eagles of GSA sport a 15-1 record.
The Shires earned a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs and will face the winner of Tuesday’s preliminary contest between No. 7 Washington Academy-No. 10 Penquis. Houlton’s game is scheduled for Thursday, but the time of that contest has yet to be determined. Houlton’s graduation ceremony is also scheduled for Thursday evening, so the playoff game will likely be held earlier in the afternoon.
On Monday, Houlton coach Jim Castner was announced as the Penobscot Valley Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Several players also earned accolades as seniors Ryan Dee and Billy Philips, along with juniors Cameron Graham and Thomas Prescott were named to the PVC First Team All-Stars, while sophomore Nick Perfitt was named to the second team and junior Nick Botting received honorable mention.
Given the fact that the Shires lost six seniors to graduation, coach Castner was cautiously optimistic coming into the season.
“We lost six guys and had a really young team this year, with just three seniors,” he said. “Of course I had confidence in my guys, but it was a bit of an unknown. I certainly didn’t expect us to go 16-0.”
Led by seniors Dee, Connor Grant and Phillips, the Shires have scored a whopping 176 runs on the season and have averaged 11 per game. As a team, Houlton bashed 160 hits, including 26 doubles, eight triples and two home runs and stole an incredible 89 bases on the season.
Phillips has been the team’s best hitter, collecting 28 hits (nine doubles, two triples, two home runs) with 23 RBIs, seven stolen bases and 23 runs scored. Grant has tallied 11 hits, including a triple, driven in five RBIs and scored 14 runs, while Dee has amassed 20 hits (two triples and a double), with 11 RBIs, nine stolen bases and scored a team-high 24 runs.
The Shires’ top base-stealing threats thus far are juniors Graham and Prescott with 18 and 14 stolen bases respectively. Graham has tallied 15 hits (two triples, two doubles), 14 RBIs and scored 17 runs, while Prescott has 18 hits (two doubles), 13 RBIs, and scored 23 runs.
On the mound, the Shires have received stellar pitching from Dee and Graham. Through 42 innings pitched, Dee (6-0) has allowed eight runs (4 earned), on 24 hits and 11 walks, with 60 strikeouts. He has thrown five complete games and has a 0.86 earned run average.
Graham, the team’s No. 2 pitcher, has tossed 28.2 innings, allowing seven runs (two earned), on 11 hits and 15 walks, with 35 strikeouts. He is also 6-0 on the season, and sports an even more impressive 0.63 ERA and tossed three complete games.
Phillips and sophomores Perfitt and Pat Howe also spent time on the mound this year. Phillips pitched just six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and four walks, with 15 strikeouts and a 1.5 ERA.
Howe (3-0) tossed 16 innings, allowing 10 runs (two earned) on 11 hits and eight walks with 32 strikeouts and a 1.13 ERA and two complete games. Perfitt (1-0) gave up two runs (none earned) on two hits and no walks, with eight strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work. His boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA.
Other members of the Shiretowners team include junior Botting, sophomores Isia Bouchard (first base/outfield/pitcher), Colby Callnan, (outfield/pitcher), Zack Hagan (catcher) and Morgan Phillips (third base/catcher); and freshman Ryder Graham (third base).
Coach Castner said three-quarters of the way through the year, with the team yet to lose a game, thoughts started creeping in about going unbeaten.
“I’m sure it was on the guys’ minds, but we did a nice job of focusing on just one game at a time,” he said. “We tried to stay as grounded as possible. Going 16-0 is a good accomplishment, but it doesn’t mean much if we don’t go far in the playoffs.”
