Windham 10/11 All-Stars rally in final inning to avoid shutout

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham Little League 10/11 All-Stars baseball team played Falmouth in Scarborough on Friday, June 28 and after a rough first inning gave Falmouth a big lead. Windham came back in the last inning to put a couple runs on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Windham suffered its second loss and was eliminated from the District 6 tournament, with Falmouth winning, 18-2.

Windham 10/11 All-Star fifth grader CJ Bisson throws to
the infield after fielding the ball during a Little League
District 6 tournament game against Falmouth on
Friday, June 28 in Scarborough.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

“I think on that last inning the team had like a pump-up boost and everyone was on,” said Windham fourth grader Nathaniel Potter. “We just did great all in all and it was a great experience to be in an inning that we were doing good. It was really fun to play on a team where it’s mostly Majors players and you got me and another kid and we’re learning from the Majors kids and being able to start alongside them was a great experience. Little League’s not just all about winning, it’s about improving yourself and becoming a better baseball player.”

A rough first inning gave Falmouth the opportunity to score several runs, but Windham kept their heads up and made improvements every inning after that.

In the second inning, Windham fourth grader Dominic Rathbone singled, but was left on base when the inning ended.

In the third inning Windham gave a solid final push.

“I could tell they really wanted to put something together in the last inning,” said Windham 10/11 All-Stars baseball coach John Cressey. “It was great to see the effort and the mental aspect of it come back around again. They cheered each other on, and it was a proud moment to be able to say this was the team that we put together, and we battled together as a team. They started communicating better in the field in that last inning. They watched the pitches and made sure they weren’t swinging at bad pitches, and it developed into a couple runs and they were excited. They were really happy to get rid of the goose egg and put a couple runs across the board. They started realizing they needed to get to the ball a little bit quicker and keep the kids on the bases and then they started building off that momentum. I’m really proud of the progress these kids made.”

Windham fourth grader Byron Dansereau reached first base after a dropped third strike. Potter walked, then stole second base. Fifth grader Wesson LeDuc walked, Dansereau scored and now Potter is on third base. Fifth grader CJ Bisson walked; LeDuc artfully stole second base. Potter stole home.

“It was very exciting to score because my whole team was congratulating me,” said Dansereau. “My team was talking more, and we did some good plays and we played smart.”

Dansereau had fun this season and will play again next year.

“On the mound, it was fun; it was exciting,” said LeDuc who closed out the game. “It was a little stressful because I had a feeling it was probably going to be the last inning. I tried my hardest to throw strikes. It’s an energetic team and we try to build each other up. For the few that got on base we did pretty good, we were smart, we were fast and then fielding we had a couple errors, but the rest were really good plays; we had some good hits. My takeaway from this season is to be a good teammate, and just practice and get better.” <