In June, the Mt. Ararat baseball and Edward Little softball teams energized their communities with appearances in Class A championship games. In July, the Ararat Cal Ripken baseball and Auburn Babe Ruth softball teams continued the momentum by winning their 10u state tournaments.
“Oh, joy, gloves and hats were flying,” said head coach Jason Weymouth, recalling the moment his Ararat 10u all-stars won the state championship game. “It was pretty cool to see all the boys being so happy and cheering together, because I think they all knew every single one of them contributed.”
Ararat went undefeated in last week’s double-elimination state tournament in Belgrade, beating Andy Valley, Farmington and Bath twice before unfurling the state championship banner. Ararat will represent Maine in next week’s 10u Cal Ripken New England Regional in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Weymouth said that he and the other coaches are confident in this team’s capabilities and talent. An 8-1 tournament-opening win against Andy Valley bolstered the coaching staff’s belief.
“They are usually a state contender year after year,” Weymouth said. “So beating them in the way we did was really a positive turning point. … The next big hurdle is getting through our neighbors with Bath, who are always tough to beat and are the defending state champions (in the 9u division).”
Ararat beat Farmington 14-0 to set up the first meeting with Bath. A tight 9-8 victory kept Ararat in the winners’ bracket and sent them to the title game. Bath beat Skowhegan to force a rematch, which Ararat won, 9-3.
Many Ararat families are preparing to travel to Massachusetts for the New England Regional. The July 19-26 tournament begins with three games of pool play on Saturday and Sunday before bracket play begins.
“It’s been a busy beginning of the week, but everyone’s really excited, and I think really looking forward to seeing what the competition is like at the regional level,” Weymouth said. “We know it will be tough, but we’re excited for a challenge.”
Auburn softball wins 10u title
Two years ago, Brady Blackman coached the Auburn Suburban 8u softball all-stars to a Babe Ruth state championship. On Sunday, Blackman and seven of those players found themselves in a familiar celebration at the 10u level.
“It feels amazing,” said Blackman, the son of longtime St. Dominic Academy baseball coach Bob Blackman. “It’s a really great group of girls. They prepared really, really hard. We started practicing on June 10, and two or three times a week, they showed up every day, they listened, they got better and they worked hard. Then when it came to the tournament, they executed everything that we worked on. So, I’m super proud of them.”
Because of their previous tournament experience, most of the players weren’t as nervous for last week’s state tournament in South Paris. At the 8u level, the game is still coach-pitched. At the 10u level, however, Auburn’s pitching carried them to the championship.
In the first game of the tournament, Auburn’s Jayla Cocroft pitched a four-inning no-hitter in a 9-1 win over Greene. In the second game, Maggie Barriault tossed a no-hitter against Ararat, winning 16-2 in three innings. Cocroft pitched her second no-hitter of the tournament in the championship game, an 11-1 win over Greene in four innings.
“Our pitching was unbelievable,” said Blackman, adding that most runners reached base on a walk and scored on a passed ball.
There is no regional for the Auburn all-stars at their current age group, so their summer season is over, but it ended on a high note: Barriault’s three-run, inside-the-park home run invoked the 10-run limit in the final game against Greene and clinched the state championship for Auburn.
“Just top-to-bottom team effort, played good defense, had amazing pitching, ran the bases aggressively and smartly. We had two home runs on the weekend; my daughter, Leighton Blackman, hit a home run in one of the games; and then obviously the walk-off home run in the championship; so timely hitting, some big hits,” Blackman said. “All in all, the girls just played a perfect weekend of softball.”
Here are the results of other youth baseball and softball state tournaments around Maine:
Cal Ripken Baseball
• U8: Marshwood advanced to a regional in New Milford, Connecticut
• U9: River Valley advanced to a regional in Fairhaven/Acushnet, Massachusetts
• 11/60: Skowhegan
• 11/70: Noble advanced to regional in New Canaan, Connecticut
• 12/60: To be determined by July 18
• 12/70: Wild Maine Baseball (Newport, Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft) advanced to a regional in Rochester, New Hampshire
• All New England regionals will be held July 19-26.
Babe Ruth Softball
• 8U: Lisbon
• 12U: Turner Area
Babe Ruth Baseball
• 14U: Midcoast advanced to the regional in North Providence, Rhode Island.
• 13-16: Sanford advanced to the regional in Westfield, Massachusetts.
• Both New England regional tournaments will be held July 18-22.
Little League Softball
Bonny Eagle will represent Maine in next week’s New England Regional. Bonny Eagle beat Massabesic 7-0 in the state championship game at Ellsworth.
The Maine squad will face Cranston Western of Rhode Island on July 20 in Bristol, Connecticut. The 8 p.m. game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Little League Baseball
Machias Area Little League hosts the state tournament from July 18-24.
Machias Area (District 1), Medomak Valley (District 2), Old Town (District 3), York (District 4), Capital Area (District 5) and Gorham (District 6) will look to represent Maine in the New England regional, held in Bristol, Connecticut, from Aug. 2-7.
