The Saco 10-11 year old Little League All-Stars celebrate their state title win. (In no order): Josh Penney, Jeremiah Chessie, Henry Lausier, Matt Kimball, Josh Ney, Brady Kezal, Justin Labelle, Ryan Camire, Kyle Lesieur, Cole Purvis, Xander Cantara, Trevor Nevell. SUBMITTED PHOTO
After losing a two-run lead in the first inning and falling behind 3-2, the Trojans would beat the odds in the final inning, scoring four runs and taking the 6-3 lead to eventually secure the win.
“The kids never gave up — once (Scarborough) tied things up with the homerun, that could be troublesome, but the kids stuck with it,” said Saco manager Kirk Purvis. “I was in the dugout with the team the entire game and when you put runs on the board early everyone gets on a high, but then to get shut down for four innings, the kids can get kind of down. We talked to them before the last inning, we encouraged them and told them they could come back and they went out and performed.”
Saco got a slew of consecutive hits, as well as walks, to pressure Scarborough and take the momentum in the sixth. Saco also got a brilliant performance on the mound from pitcher Josh Ney, who went the distance and picked up the win.
“It was absolutely incredible for an 11-year-old kid in that circumstance to have a performance like that, it was fun to watch,” said Purvis.
An advantage for Saco is continuity, as many of the players on the team play year round and have also played with one another for awhile.
“I would say we were very consistent throughout — a lot of these kids have been playing travel baseball since January so they were ready for this tournament on day one,” said Purvis. “They came to practice every day, listened to instruction, they focused, they hustled, and they were really intent on getting back to the championship game. Scarborough is an excellent team that’s well coached, but our kids stayed focused and came out on top.”
Saco will add another banner to its impressive Little League program, and the community is proud of the Trojans for climbing atop the league once again.
“It’s huge for the kids — they put a lot of time into it, the parents put a lot of time into it. So to have that success is very rewarding to everybody,” said Purvis. “Our Saco Little League program is very supportive of these kids so to get a championship banner is really an accomplishment for the league. They’re not done Little League, they have another year so they’ll come back next year hungry to do it again.”
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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