The guys who made up Windham’s Senior Babe Ruth team could have gone elsewhere to play Legion Baseball this summer. Instead, they chose to stick together.
At the regional tournament over the weekend in Worcester, Mass., the squad drew several compliments, with some observers saying that it was the best team from Maine that had ever advanced to that level.
“These guys have no idea the impact they’re going to have on Windham baseball,” said coach Mike Fullerton.
The team split their four games, with one of those wins eliminating the tournament favorites.
Down by four runs early in the opener against one of the two teams from the host city, Windham rallied and tied the game at seven before losing, 8-7, in the last inning. Josh Sundquist homered and Arthur Winship had a two-RBI single.
Windham spotted Vermont an even bigger lead in the second game, trailing 6-1 after two innings, but they fought back, scoring three runs in the fifth and another eight in the sixth. Nate Johnson hit a two-run round-tripper, and Winship took the ball in relief and pitched five strong innings.
Against the tournament-favorite Worcester team that had played in the Senior Babe Ruth World Series three times in the past five years, Windham decided that taking the early lead was a little easier than battling back. They went up, 6-3, but their opponents came back to tie the score, Windham scored five in the ninth to win 11-6. Johnson and Dan Bradbury had three hits each.
Cape Cod then eliminated Windham from the double-elimination tournament, 4-2. Johnson scored one run and knocked in the other, and Brad Anthoine had a no hitter through four innings. Cape Cod ended up scoring four unearned runs.
“Our goal was to get to the regionals,” Fullerton said. “We showed we could play with anybody.”
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