SACO — Todd Duchaine is hoping for the same result but a lot less in the drama department this year with his Saco Little League Baseball 11 year-old boy’s squad.
This time last year Duchaine’s 9/10 year-old all-star team went on an unbelievable and memorable run. It lost early in the District 4 playoffs but rallied to win six times in seven days for a shot in the championship game. There they had to beat York twice in order to capture the District. Saco took a similar path in the state championships when it lost its opening game and went on to win five times in five nights to gain a birth in the championship game. Once again Saco needed to beat its opponent (Auburn) twice to secure state honors.
“I think our kids have a tremendous amount of confidence having won the state championship last year,” the Saco manager said. “They had the opportunity to go down to Rhode Island last year against the best kids in basically the entire east coast and we finished 2-2.”
Duchaine’s team is virtually the same as last year. But this time around the players have already significantly reduced their manager’s stress level.
It would be a monumental understatement to say Saco cruised through the District 4 tournament. The team captured the title with ease, going 3-0 and outscoring its opposition 42-1.
Saco will continue its pursuit of a second straight state championship Saturday in Waldoboro.
“This year we’re not going to sneak up on anybody,” said Duchaine. “I think everybody will be looking at us as one of the strongest teams. I’m sure that the other five teams that get there (to states) will know that we were the state champs last year and they’ll be pitching their best pitchers against us.”
The Saco squad is a well-balanced group that excels in all aspects of the game. While the offense jumps off the page with its explosiveness, Duchaine says his team is also very sound defensively. And when it comes to pitching, the manager said he doesn’t believe there are any better than Luke Chessie and Brogan Searle-Belanger, the top two members of a staff of six that Duchaine utilizes with confidence.
The 11 year-old state tournament will have a different format than what Duchaine and his team experienced last year. Pool play will be utilized with teams being placed into two pools consisting of three teams instead of a double-elimination format. Each team will face the other teams in their pool once each and the top two teams from each pool will move on to a semifinal round. Championship and consolation participants will be determined in the semifinal games.
While Duchaine is confident his team will be tested by each of the other five competing teams, he does have his eye on one team in particular.
“Last year when we went to states we played Westbrook in our first game and we lost,” said Duchaine. “So I am looking at Westbrook as maybe our strongest competition. I say that mostly because I don’t really know the other teams, not that I don’t have the same respect for the other teams in the tournament. Obviously, all the teams won their district so it’s going to be competitive.”
— Contact Mark Jeanneret at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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