Troy Locke of Windham is living a dream. Literally.

He’s combined two of his passions – the Red Sox and ice cream – into a business venture that began its ninth year Sunday. The Ice Cream Dugout is now open for business, just on weekends through April.

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Like the Red Sox who’ve begun another season, Troy Locke opened Windham’s Ice Cream Dugout on Sunday. Don Perkins photo

“When the Red Sox start the season, you know the Ice Cream Dugout is going to be open that Sunday,” Locke said.

While a few ice cream shops have come and gone in Windham over the years, like the Red Sox the Ice Cream Dugout has a loyal following.

The perfect pairing of ice cream and baseball visited Locke in his sleep back in the late ’90s, before Red Sox Nation-mania swept the land in the World Series of 2004.

Ten years ago, Locke and his wife, Tammy, went out for ice cream often but noticed Windham lacked anything other than chain-store ice cream offerings.

“We’d travel to Beals (in Gorham),” Locke said. “We soon discovered Shain’s of Maine in Sanford and just fell in love with their ice cream.”

It wasn’t long before Locke began talking with his wife about opening their own ice cream shop in Windham.

“We talked about it so much that I literally went to bed one night, dreamed, and woke up with the Ice Cream Dugout name and various offerings like the Triple Play,” said Locke, 38.

He wrote the elements of the dream down in a notebook and shared them with his wife. At the time, she thought it was a terrible idea. They didn’t have the money for a startup venture. Locke got a break a couple of years later when a friend bought property on Route 302 just north of North Windham’s main drag. He asked Locke what he thought might be a good idea for a business there. Locke eagerly shared his dream, where visions of baseball and ice cream danced in his head. Encouraged, the developer urged Locke to pursue it.

“He was also my realtor,” Locke said, “and knew I was getting ready to build a two-car garage and a mudroom.”

The realtor said a garage on his house would be nice but asked Locke if he would rather put the money into a business. With that, Locke went back home and reviewed the notebook with the elements of his dream. He talked it over again with his wife and the couple brainstormed the marketing possibilities of pairing baseball with ice cream.

This is reflected in the menu offerings today. The Berry Bonds is a sponge cake filled with strawberry ice cream with strawberry and blueberry sauce, topped with whipped cream and garnished with a strawberry. The Ortiz Freeze consists of orange soda with vanilla soft serve, topped with whipped cream, an orange slice and a cherry.

Ice cream cones range in size from the “bunt” for kiddies to the “double” for heavy hitters.

After nine years, Locke said the business is a blast. He employs local help, sponsors a Windham Little League team and donates gift cards to various fundraisers.

When asked to provide a ballpark figure (pun intended) of how much ice cream gets pitched, Locke said he goes through about 5,000 gallons in a stretch that mirrors baseball season: April to October. And it’s none other than Shain’s of Maine.

“We’ve got to figure out how to fit some of the new Red Sox players into a sundae name,” Locke said. “Pedro Martinez is one of my favorite players of all time, but his name hasn’t been terribly conducive to a sundae. Even though some players have gone, we still keep them on the menu because it’s part of who we are now. The names work.”

What’s the most popular item? The Fudgy Pudge Fisk, christened after famed Sox catcher Carlton Fisk. It’s a chewy fudge brownie covered with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.

Don Perkins is a freelance writer who lives in Raymond. He can be reached at:

presswriter@gmail.com

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