Windham Little League 9-10-year-old baseball All-Stars shine in District 6 tournament

Windham fifth-grader Brady Legere makes a 
throw to first base after catching a pop fly in
the top of the fifth inning of a 9-10-year-old
District 6 Tournament baseball game against
Cumberland North Yarmouth on Saturday,
July 10 at Ciccarone Field in Windham.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

By Matt Pascarella

The 9-10-year-old Windham Little League All-Star baseball team played District 6 doubleheader games on July 10 against Gorham and Cumberland North Yarmouth at Ciccarone Field and turned in an impressive showing.

Windham put runs on the scoreboard early in the first game against Gorham and was able to hold onto its lead for an 8-6 win. Cumberland North Yarmouth (CNY) took a big lead in the second game, but Windham fought hard however it wasn’t able to catch up and lost, 20-8. This eliminated Windham from the tournament.    

Windham had an early lead in Game One against Gorham. In the second inning, fourth-grader Robbie Sanicola singled, then scored. Fifth-grader Hunter Pulkkinen stole home after he walked. Windham added to their lead in the fifth inning when fifth-graders Brady Legere and Carson Brown singled. Fifth-grader Joey Small doubled. Fifth-grader Ryan Manning tripled.

After grounding out and popping out earlier in the game, Manning said he needed to do something better. After his hit, he scored.

In the fifth inning of Game One, Windham fifth-grader Riley Gallagher walked, then stole second and third. Sanicola singled. The Eagles led 8-1 going into the sixth inning. Gorham just couldn’t catch up.

In Game Two, CNY had a big lead at the start of the game, but Windham had great defensive plays like pop ups caught by Legere in two separate innings. Brown caught a line drive and a pop up in two separate innings as well.

“I think our team did very well against (CNY),” said Brown. “We had some good hits. This team played better than us today.” He added he had fun during the tournament and thought it was a good experience.

Windham loaded up the bases in the fourth inning of Game Two after a couple walks and a single by Sanicola. Windham scored a few runs, but CNY maintained the lead.

“It was fun,” said Windham Assistant Coach Mike Manning. “The kids are smiling ... at the end; that’s all you could ever want as a coach.”

Windham Assistant Coach Josh Legere said the team worked very hard during the tournament.

“We tried to keep it fun for them (during the tournament) while at the same time pushing them,” said Manning. He added that made them hungrier and made them want to play for Windham.

Windham Coach Tim Gaudet said they were at a disadvantage to have two games in one day, but the kids did great for what they were dealt.

Gaudet said he’s seen a lot of progression from the team since the start of the tournament. He said the dynamics put everyone where they needed to be which contributed to the team going as far as they did.

Congratulations to Windham’s Carson Brown, Dylan Emmons, Riley Gallagher, Brady Legere, Ryan Manning, Sullivan Nappi, Hunter Pulkkinen, Cody Ruth, Robbie Sanicola, Joey Small and Justin Tom on a great tournament. <