CARIBOU — It ended up being an undefeated season, but the Sleepers’ Little League team received some stiff tests in three of its final four playoff games en route to the championship.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Joining in the celebration following their team’s victory in last Tuesday’s Little League championship game are, from left, Sleepers players Cole Jackson, Mason Huck, Camden Huck, Justin Ouellette and Michael Hunter.
After coasting through the regular season, Sleepers needed a come-from-behind, extra-inning win over the North Stars in the American Division semifinals before topping Key Bank in the division finals. In the championship series against National Division representative Savings Bank of Maine, Sleepers again was challenged in collecting a 7-5 win in game one July 19 and following that up with a hard-fought 11-9 triumph July 20 in games played at the Robert P. White Field.
In the clinching game last Tuesday, SBM started strong and pushed across three first-inning runs on a double by Caleb Willett, a triple by Jacob Burby, a single by Brayden Burby and a double by Spencer St. Peter.
Sleepers answered in its half of the inning with a run on an RBI double by nine-year-old Camden Huck which scored his older brother, Mason, who had reached with a single.
Mason Huck, the Sleepers starting pitcher, and Willett, who got the start for SBM, both hurled shutout innings in the second before SBM was able to rally for two more runs in the top of the third to grab a 5-1 advantage. Tyler Raymond and Brayden Burby had hits as they pieced together two more runs.
In the bottom half of the inning, Sleepers put together a huge rally that turned the game around. Following a leadoff double off the bat of Michael Hunter, Mason Huck singled and Camden Huck doubled. Cole Jackson then reached on a bunt single before Riley McDuffie’s RBI on a fielder’s choice. Hunter came to bat for a second time in the inning and singled in another run before consecutive walks to Jacob Ouellette, Emma Belyea and Spencer McDuffie ended the scoring as Sleepers turned the four-run deficit into an 8-5 lead.
Riley McDuffie made a nice catch in center field as Mason Huck held SBM off the scoreboard in the top of the fourth, while Willett fanned two batters in the bottom of the inning to leave Camden Huck, who had led off with a single, stranded at second base.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Savings Bank of Maine’s Kyle Tibbetts slides safely into home plate for a run, while Sleepers catcher Michael Hunter awaits the late throw, during last Tuesday’s championship contest.
Kyle Tibbetts led off the top of the fifth with a walk for SBM, leading to a pitching appearance by Camden Huck in place of his brother. The younger Huck came in and performed like a veteran, with the left-hander surrendering an RBI single before striking out the next two batters and relying on a fine defensive play on a grounder to third base, which Jackson handled cleanly and threw to first to retire the side.
Now down 8-6, SBM ace pitcher Jacob Burby entered the game and after recording a quick out, walked McDuffie, forced Hunter to pop out and then gave up back-to-back singles to Mason Huck and Justin Ouellette before a triple by Huck drove in a pair of runs to put Sleepers up 11-6.
In the sixth and final inning, SBM scored two runs before a single batter was retired and still had baserunners on first and third base. However, catcher Hunter threw out a runner attempting the steal second, with the runner on third scoring on the play to cut the margin to two. Camden Huck then settled down and got the next two batters out on a groundout and a strikeout, and the celebration on the field ensued.
Camden Huck went 4 for 4 and Mason Huck went 3 for 4 to lead 18-0 Sleepers at the plate. Hunter and Justin Ouellette added two hits each.
Brayden Burby and St. Peter had three hits each, with Tibbetts and Raymond contributing two hits each for SBM.
In the opening game of the championship series held the previous evening in very wet, sloppy conditions due to some heavy rains, Sleepers started strong with a four-run first inning, stringing together hits by the Hucks, Hunter and Justin Ouellette.
The bottom of the inning saw Willett and Jacob Burby rip back-to-back doubles as SBM got a run back.
Brayden Burby held Sleepers off the scoreboard with some effective pitching over the next four innings, but Sleepers’ Hunter was almost as effective during the same stretch, allowing only a solo homer off the bat of Willett as well as a double by Jacob Burby and an RBI single off the bat of Brayden Burby, all coming in the third inning.
With a 4-3 lead heading into the sixth, Sleepers came up with three important insurance runs. A ground-rule double by Hunter was followed up by a triple by Justin Ouellette and a single by Camden Huck.
Down by four, SBM showed its resilience as Tibbetts and Sebastian Marquis both reached on singles. But the rally fell short as Riley McDuffie replaced Hunter on the mound for Sleepers and got the save by striking out the only batter he faced to end the contest.
Hunter and Justin Ouellette both had three hits and Camden Huck notched two more for the winners.
Willett, Jacob Burby and Spencer St. Peter had two hits apiece for SBM.
Defensively, Hunter made a couple nice plays from the mound to lead Sleepers, while Willett played a strong third base for SBM. Both catchers, Sleepers’ Justin Ouellette and SBM’s Jacob Burby, worked hard in the soggy conditions.
Sleepers beat Key Bank on July 15 by a score of 11-3 to take the American Division title. Hunter went 4 for 4, while Mason Huck and Justin Ouellette both chipped in with three hits. Stewart Curtis had a key hit in a six-run uprising in the fourth inning.
Nick and Noah Frost each had a hit and a run for Key, while Paul Hanson doubled. Noah Rosado also singled and scored for Key.
The North Stars almost pulled off a giant upset in the league semifinals, but Sleepers managed a 9-8 win in seven innings.
The Stars grabbed a 7-4 lead after two innings, taking advantage of pitching wildness (six walks) and also getting big run-scoring triples from Kevin Bither and Devon Chamberlain.
Sleepers trailed by two runs heading into the bottom of the sixth, but tied the score on a long double by Justin Ouellette that scored Hunter and Mason Huck. Ouellette was thrown out at the plate trying to score on an errant throw, forcing extra innings.
The North Stars went scoreless against the pitching of Hunter in the top of the seventh, while Sleepers was able to push across the difference-making run as Riley McDuffie plated his brother, Spencer, with a sharp single to the outfield.
Ouellette had three hits to pace Sleepers offensively, while Bither and Chamberlain had two hits each for the Stars. Gunnar Bondeson was effective on the mound for the North Stars.
