Along with the summer weather, local Legion and Babe Ruth baseball teams are sizzling and chasing championship glory.
Once again, the Deering High-populated (with a couple Cape Elizabeth kids mixed in) Nova Seafood American Legion baseball team is in the hunt for a state title.
Last week, Nova won the Zone 4 championship. After a 15-3 regular season gave it the top seed for the playoffs, Nova downed Stockhouse, 7-4, and Libby-Mitchell, 6-4, to win the title.
Nova begins state tournament play Wednesday against Bessey Motors at Wainwright Field in South Portland. The double-elimination tournament continues through Sunday.
The regional championships are Aug. 5-9 in Middletown, Conn. The World Series will be held Aug. 13-17 in Spokane, Wash.
Cheverus’ First Title team just missed the playoffs with an 11-7 mark. Portland’s Andrews Post squad went 2-16 and failed to qualify.
On the Junior Legion side, Deering’s Bristol Seafood team is in the state tournament. Bristol went 10-8 in the regular season and knocked off Kennebunk, 9-2, to advance to a best-of-three series with Seacoast Law and Title of Westbrook, which began Tuesday.
Portland’s Babe Ruth 15 All-Stars were preparing to play in the championship game of their tournament against Westbrook at press time. Portland lost its first game, 3-2, in eight innings, to Midcoast North, but rebounded with a 5-2 victory over Tri-County North, 7-2 over Southern York and 8-3 over Midcoast North. In the win over Southern York, Portland broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning. Tim Rovnak and Nick Volger both had three hits. Tom Dean and Kyle Reichert both drove in two runs. Volger was also the winning pitcher. In the victory over Midcoast North, Portland rallied from an early 2-0 deficit behind Reichert’s two-run homer, Caleb Fraser’s three hits and two RBI and a strong pitching performance from Tom Dean.
If Portland was able to defeat Westbrook, it would win the state title and advance to the New England tournament in Quincy, Mass.
The Portland Babe Ruth 13 team sandwiched losses to Central Maine (13-9) and Somerset around a 12-0 (six inning) victory over Brunswick and was eliminated from its tournament.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net
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