Windham varsity baseball prevents Bonny Eagle shutout

Windham High junior Ethan Barker runs to first base after 
driving the ball to the outfield during a prep baseball game
against Bonny Eagle at Windham High School on Tuesday,
May 24. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

By Matt Pascarella

Windham varsity baseball prevented a shutout by Bonny Eagle on Tuesday, May 24 at Windham when they scored in the bottom of the third inning.

After two scoreless innings, Bonny Eagle scored several runs in the top of the third inning.

Unfortunately, the Scots scored three more runs before the end of the game and got an 8-1 win.

“It’s rough,” said Windham junior Blake Peeples who was on the mound for a little over six innings. “I thought we had them in the first inning and second, but then we just kept making errors. We lasted the whole game, so we’ll get credit for that.”

Peeples said communication went well. He added the team can improve for next game by working harder, staying together ... and just play the game of baseball.

The Scots got things going with a double and then a runner was hit by the pitch. Windham was able to end the inning with two runners on base and one in scoring position.

In the top of the third inning, Bonny Eagle knocked in five runs.

Windham junior Ethan Barker singled on a line drive to right field. Junior Ryan Bernard walked. Sophomore Login Desrochers singled on a ground ball to the shortstop. This brought in Barker. It’s now 5-1, Bonny Eagle.

“I think we played pretty good defense in the outfield, we got the ball in quick,” said Barker. “And we were swinging [the bats] a lot more.”

Barker said he thought they stuck together as a team and did not get down on themselves.

Bonny Eagle scored one run in the fourth inning.

In the seventh inning, Windham picked a runner off at first base who was caught in a pickle. Windham also stopped a runner at home. Despite this, Bonny Eagle scored two runs.

Windham varsity baseball coach Cody Dube said this was one of the best opposing pitchers they’ve seen this season. He worked quick, threw strikes, and got after Windham. Dube said it’s tough when you have a pitcher in a groove like that.

He pointed out that the Eagles are making similar mistakes on defense they have all year; instinctual things like not knowing ahead of time where the ball needs to go. He said more reps and situational awareness and things will start to come together.

Dube said that Blake did a nice job on the mound, and got a lot of weak contact, which made his batters look uncomfortable. Windham also had good outfield play. <

Spring season will feature many great athletes

Windham High senior Pete Peterson throws heat early in a 
preseason prep baseball scrimmage against Sacopee Valley
at home on April 12. Peterson could make it tough for
 opposing batters this spring.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

By Matt Pascarella

The spring prep season has already opened for most sports, and in about a week, the spring schedule will be in full force.

Here are a few Windham High School players to watch as the season gets underway:

Boys Lacrosse

Coach Peter Small

Alex Yeaton, junior – In a preseason game against Greely, Yeaton was quick on the field and got to the crease where he scored at least once.

Nolan Brennan, senior– Like Yeaton, Brennan is fast on the field and gets it done. Looking forward to what he and Yeaton will be able to do this season.

Boys’ lacrosse is at home against Scarborough on April 23.

Girls Lacrosse

Coach Matt Perkins

Sid McCusker, senior – In preseason games, McCusker is fast and energetic with the ball. She scored three times in a recent game against Gorham.

Isabelle Babb, senior– Headed to Johnson and Wales next year for Division III lacrosse, Babb is another player who is quick on the field and moves the ball well.

Girls’ lacrosse is at home against Deering on May 4, varsity only.

Softball

Coach Fred Wilcox

Brooke Gerry, sophomore – An incredible pitcher who was instrumental in taking this team to the state semifinal against Biddeford last year; she’s only improved more and can take this team even further.

Stella Jarvais, freshman– Jarvais has played on travel teams and has showcased serious skills. She’s an excellent addition to this powerhouse team.

Softball is at home against Westbrook on April 30, varsity only.

Baseball

Coach Cody Dube

Alex “Bob” Wing, junior – Wing had a couple of solid plays plus a hit that later resulted in Windham tying the game with Sacopee Valley during a preseason game. He’s definitely a player to watch.

Pete Peterson, senior– Peterson was first to pitch in the Sacopee Valley scrimmage and threw the ball well over the plate. He’s going to make it hard for batters this season.

Windham Baseball is home against Marshwood on April 30.

Boys Tennis

Coach Garry Stone 

Will Searway and Dakota Thompson, seniors – Players who have devoted this much time to a sport over their high school careers are worth watching as the season begins and progresses. A doubles team, they were important in shutting out opponent Kennebunk last year.

Boys’ tennis is home against Kennebunk on April 27.

Girls Tennis

Coach Katy Dresnok

Alyssa Conley, sophomore– Conley helped propel Windham to an end-of-season win against Cheverus last year when she shut out her opponent 6-0, 6-0. Conley’s strength can only help Windham this season.

Lauren DeLuca, senior– Half of a doubles team, DeLuca helped Windham shut out Biddeford in the Class A South opening round last year. With this being her final season, I look forward to seeing what she’ll do.

Girls’ tennis is home against Thornton Academy on April 29.

Boys Track

Coach Paula Pock 

Connor Langstaff, junior – Langstaff consistently puts up good numbers and breaks personal records. At States last year, he placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles and seventh in the high jump. 

Will Stewart, senior – In indoor track, Stewart finished the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.17 seconds. He also finished second in the 200-meter with a time of 25.26 seconds; he will only continue to succeed.

Girls Track

Coach Jeff Riddle 

Stella Inman, senior– Inman came very close to breaking the school shotput record during indoor track and plans to beat it this season. She also became a shotput state champion when she threw a distance of 37-10.75 feet. 

Khalysa Hammith, sophomore– Hammith is lightning-fast on the track and qualified for four state events last year. I think she’ll keep that speed up this season. 

Outdoor Track begins on April 28 with home meets against Noble and Portland. <

Windham varsity baseball shows promise in preseason game

Windham junior Logan Marden is ready to make the tag at
third base during a preseason varsity baseball game against
Sacopee Valley at Windham on Tuesday, April 12.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham High School varsity baseball team came within one run of the Sacopee Valley Hawks during a preseason game at home on Tuesday, April 12.

Sacopee Valley scored one run in the third inning, and the Eagles were quick to answer when they had a mini slugfest in the bottom of the fourth inning which drove in two runs and gave Windham the lead.

Although Sacopee Valley was able to sneak in the tie-breaking run, to win 3-2, Windham did a good job defensively. Players were put all over the field and adjusted well to being in many different positions as they made several great plays.

"Our at-bats were okay, we really weren’t aggressive enough early in the count,” said Windham varsity baseball coach Cody Dube. “Pitchers did a great job, they threw the ball over the plate and let our defense work. It was a positive day.”

Windham junior Blake Peeples thought the team did very well against Sacopee Valley. He thought Windham needed to communicate more but said they did well getting on base and fielding in the outfield, as well as getting groundballs to first base and making connections.

In the top of the first inning, the Hawks had two runners in scoring positions and the Eagles ended the inning with those runners stranded and unable to score.

Windham started slow offensively, but kept Sacopee Valley scoreless until the top of the third inning when the Hawks drove in a single run.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Windham junior Alex “Bob” Wing singled. An out at first, advanced Wing to second.

Windham senior Colby Raynor singled; then advanced to second. Another base hit and Wing tied the game.

Raynor scored on a passed ball. Now, Windham was ahead 2-1.

Sacopee Valley wasted no time as they tied the game up in the top of the fifth inning at two. The Eagles defense shut down any further scoring opportunities the Hawks had that inning. 

Windham defense kept it up in the sixth inning when catcher Raynor stopped a runner headed to home.

In an unusual play where a Sacopee Valley runner stopped halfway down the third base line, the Hawks were able to edge out ahead.

"We played good as a team,” said Windham sophomore Login Desrochers. “We got to work on signs and getting to know the plays a little better. We had a couple screw-ups, but overall, it’s going to get better as we play more together.” <

Cody Dube: From high school to professional baseball and back

Windham High graduate Cody Dube pitches for the Aberdeen
 IronBirds, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, during a minor
league baseball game. Dube spent two seasons pitching in the
minors for the Orioles after playing college baseball. He is now
the varsity baseball coach at Windham high School.  
COURTESY PHOTO

By Matt Pascarella

After Windham High varsity baseball coach and WHS graduate Cody Dube graduated in 2012, he attended Keene State in New Hampshire and as a pitcher, he caught the attention of several Major League Baseball scouts. After college, he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles at age 22 and would go on to play for their affiliate teams, the Aberdeen Ironbirds and Delmarva Shorebirds. Dube spent two years in the minors before he made the personal decision to give up professional baseball.

During his college senior year, Dube was in touch with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Oakland Athletics. While Dube had communicated with many teams, he was picked by the Orioles as a 10^th round draft pick in 2016.

Dube’s ultimate goal when he entered the Minor leagues was to see where he could end up.

“I didn't want to end my baseball career with any regrets or thinking that I could've (or) should've done something differently,” said Dube.

He added it took commitment from all aspects of life; you need to train, eat, sleep, practice, repeat. You have to be the best you can be.

During his time, Dube had some of the most memorable experiences he will ever have. He’s played in front of anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 fans in beautiful stadiums and got to hang out with great athletes from all over the world.

“I will always remember the major leaguers who rehabbed with us, the guys we played against who are now in the big leagues, the teammates who are now in the big leagues (and) talking to the guys from other countries about what their home life is like,” said Dube.

He got to go play against some baseball greats like Pablo Sandoval, Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, and Bobby Dalbec; and even Tim Tebow. It brings back good memories for Dube when he sees them today on TV.

Dube also got to play with current Orioles like Alexander Wells, Austin Hays, Ryan McKenna and Hunter Harvey. Of each player, Dube said they were very talented and hard-working individuals. Wells was Dube’s spring training roommate. Dube described him as an awesome, laid-back Australian with a love of the game.

Playing in the minor leagues required a lot of hard work. Some aspects might not be so fun: sleeping on a bus, eating gas station food, being away from friends and family, the day-to-day workouts, coupled with practices can be taxing, Dube said.

They started in Florida in February and returned home after Labor Day Weekend and throughout that time, Dube said they might have maybe 14 days off total during that span.

One of the most impressive ballplayers Dube met was former Orioles’ pitcher Zach Britton who spent a couple games in the bullpen with Dube’s team. Dube said he was a great teammate and one of the coolest guys he played with. Dube got to warm up in the bullpen with Britton and got pointers from him.

Dube also got to play with retired Orioles first baseman Chris Davis and also met former Orioles’ star Brian Roberts and Hall of Fame legend Cal Ripken Jr.

One of the hardest decisions Dube ever had to make was when he decided to forego his professional baseball career. The day before he was to report for 2018 spring training, Dube told the Baltimore Orioles he was done.

“I enjoyed playing when I was on the mound, there was nothing better than competing like that,” said Dube. There are a lot of factors that went into this decision (to leave), like realistic probabilities of being promoted, spending too much time waiting to pitch; we had 14-plus pitchers for nine innings a day. You experience many highs and lows on a daily basis.”

Once he left minor league baseball, he did not have much interest in playing again. Dube said does not plan to return to the minors.

To anyone who is pursuing a career in baseball, Dube says you should work harder each day so that you can say you gave it everything you had once you reach the end. It can end so quickly and you will never have another chance.

When Dube became Windham’s varsity baseball coach he said it was a cool opportunity to coach where he grew up. Since Dube had Rich Drummond as his Athletic Director in high school, it made the transition to coaching easy.

Dube has a lot of nice memories from the Windham program. It’s been cool for Dube to now experience the game from the coaching side.

He is a Project Engineer for Langford and Low Construction in Portland and enjoys snowmobiling and skiing in the winter, hanging out around Sebago, playing softball, and chasing his new puppy Revvy in the summertime. <

Windham's Brady Afthim and Emma Yale win National USA Today High School Sports Award

Windham High graduating senior Brady
Afthim has been honored by USA Today
as 2021 Male Athlete of the Year for
Maine and also as Maine 2021
Baseball Player of the Year.
PHOTO BY HEATHER SEAVEY

By Matt Pascarella

Windham High School graduating seniors Brady Afthim and Emma Yale ended their spring seasons on very high notes. They both won several awards recognizing them for their hard work over their high school athletic careers and last month each were honored as winners of the National USA Today High School Player of the Year award.

Yale was recognized as Maine’s “Female Lacrosse Player of the Year” and Afthim was recognized as Maine’s “Baseball Player of the Year” and “Male Athlete of the Year.”

USA Today High School Sports Awards has 105 local and statewide award programs and is the largest high school athletic recognition program in the country. The best athletes from many individual sports are selected each year.

Top athletes from statewide levels advance to the national USA Today High School Sports Awards where the best of the best is selected. The selection process is not through application, but rather USA Today has their own selectors that pick athletes through “statistical analysis, game coverage and coach/athletic director feedback.”

Afthim and Yale were part of the virtual national awards show which streamed on Thursday, Aug. 5 and was hosted by Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski.

Afthim, who will attend the University of Connecticut on a baseball scholarship, recently won the Winkin Award, Gatorade Player of the Year and Varsity Maine Player of the Year among other honors. By the end of the season, he had struck out 128 batters in 53 and 1/3 innings pitched. He also had three homeruns over the course of the prep season and also threw a no-hitter.

Tufts-bound Yale set a new Windham High School record of 145 goals scored over a high school athletic career after the end of the 2021 season. She was also one of Windham’s “Female Athlete of the Year” for 2020-2021.  

Yale won the WMTW News channel 8’s Travy Award and was voted the number one player in the state by Maineiax Lacrosse Club. She was a top 10 student of her graduating class at Windham High School and will play college lacrosse for Tufts University.

Afthim said he feels really good about having had a very successful final high school season. As he looks ahead to a collegiate sports career, ending his senior year so well has given him confidence for the next level.

“It’s always cool getting recognition for success,” said Afthim of being chosen for the National USA Today High School Sports Award. He said he did not apply for the honor but was notified a few days prior to being named as the male winner for the state.

He said the awards are a nice confirmation of the work he is putting in.

Recently, Afthim turned down an offer to be drafted to play professional baseball by the Toronto Blue Jays.

“[It was] a little bit scary but also really exciting to even have the opportunity. I turned it down just because I know that I’m not ready for that step right now and I think I’ll be more successful going to the University of Connecticut first,” he said.

As if being a master on the mound wasn’t enough, Afthim also has taken up another sport, bowling. He said it might just be a phase, but he goes bowling a lot and bought his own ball. While it may just be a hobby, he’s competitive and takes everything super seriously.

Windham varsity baseball coach Cody Dube said he was not surprised when Afthim was chosen for this USA Today award. Dube said it was well-deserved as Afthim is a hardworking, committed athlete who loves what he does.

Yale said she was unaware this award existed too until Windham’s Athletic Director Rich Drummond notified her about her being chosen for the USA Today honor.

“It took me by surprise, but it is something I really appreciate, as it recognizes everything I've been able to accomplish and all of the hard work I have put into the sport,” said Yale.

The awards are a nice confirmation for her that she is on the right path. They inspire her to do more as she knows she can achieve bigger goals in the future. Yale is excited to see what she is capable of accomplishing at Tufts.

Before she heads to college, Yale said she’ll be camping with her family as well as some other fun things with family and friends.

Windham girls’ varsity lacrosse coach Matt Perkins said of Yale earlier in the season, “she puts the time in, and she does the extra things. Yes, [Emma] is very gifted, but she works extremely hard.” <

Windham Wood Bat League squad ends season with overall improvement

Windham junior Dylan Hanrahan takes a swing so hard that
his bat cracks in two during the Wood Bat League playoff
game at Sanford's Goodall Park on Friday, July 23.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

By Matt Pascarella

For the Beacon Pizza-sponsored Windham High School Wood Bat League baseball team, and it’s been a team-building season.

Since opening the year on June 15, their record of 1-13-1, does not reflect the progress the team has made at the plate and on the field. Windham took on Sanford at Goodall Park in Sanford on Friday, July 23 for the first game of the playoff season and despite Windham’s best efforts, Sanford advanced with a 13-0 win.

Windham got things going in the first inning against Sanford when junior Bob Wing crushed the ball and sent it to the outfield for a base hit. Junior Ethan Barker followed Wing and he also got a base hit. Junior Ryan Bernard was next to get on base after he sent the ball into the outfield. Wing put in a great effort to make it home but was tagged out.

In the bottom of the second inning, Windham showed concrete defense when sophomore Aiden Benish caught a pop fly and later Bernard did the same.

Sanford put two on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.

Windham’s defense was ample in the third inning when sophomore Ryan Smyth and junior Nathan Jordan made great catches to send Sanford back to the dugout.

“We’ve definitely seen some improvements coming along,” said Windham Coach Cody Dube.  “It was nice tonight to have a consistent lineup for the whole game ... we took a lot of good at-bats; we’ve become more aggressive. If we’re striking out, we’re striking out swinging. The plate appearance improvement has been really nice to see.”

Bernard singled in the top of the fourth inning. Later, junior Dylan Hanrahan swung the bat so hard it split in two pieces.

Windham prevented Sanford from scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth when Wing threw the ball to junior Logan Marden who tagged a runner headed home.

The bottom of the sixth inning brought Wing with a stellar line drive catch.

Windham put up a good fight in the top of the seventh inning but could not catch Sanford.

“I think overall today we did really well at the plate,” said Marden. “We were being aggressive and hitting first pitch strikes. I think defensively the biggest thing was errors and we couldn’t come around to ourselves and make the ... plays that changed the game.”

In the Wood Bat League season, Marden felt the team hasn’t been able to come together and have some solid games. He said it was good to get out on the field and he thought that overall, everyone worked hard, the team was happy to play, and it was a fun season. <

Windham senior Brady Afthim throws no-hitter

By Matt Pascarella

Windham senior Brady Afthim threw a no-hitter during the
first game of a doubleheader against Deering on Saturday,
May 22. Afthim had 19 strikeouts and only one walk,
throwing a total of just 83 pitches and leading Windham to
a 6-1 win over Deering. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

Windham’s varsity baseball team faced Deering in a double-header at home on Saturday, May 22, and it’s a day that senior Brady Afthim will long remember.

Pitching for the Eagles in the first game of the doubleheader, Afthim hurled a no-hitter, striking out 19 Deering batters and leading Windham to a 6-1 victory over the Rams.

Earlier in the season, Windham had scrimmaged Deering and Afthim had success during that scrimmage, so he was excited to be on the mound and very confident going into game one of the double-header.

Afthim pitched all seven innings, only walking one batter during the entire game and allowing one run. He threw a total of 83 pitches during the game.

As the game progressed, Afthim said he knew he had the no-hitter in his reach, but he did not focus on it. Instead, he said that he was trying to get outs as quickly as possible with as few pitches as he could.

“Brady was locked in, took the game pitch by pitch and ended up with a result that most pitchers don’t experience,” Windham Varsity Baseball Coach Cody Dube said. “He will remember that game for a long time.”

Dube said he was happy for Afthim and it was an awesome game to watch. He said no hitters are rare, especially ones with 19 strikeouts.

“I think every pitcher goes out there hoping to throw one (no-hitter) so it's really cool to have that be the reality for that game and the personal record for strikeouts is just the cherry on top,” said Afthim.<

Windham varsity baseball exhibits good energy in season opener

By Matt Pascarella

Windham senior Brady Afthim meets his teammates
at home plate after hitting a home run in the bottom 
of the first inning during Windham's home opener
against Biddeford on Friday, April 23. The game
was tied in the top of the seventh inning before
Biddeford was able to pull ahead to win, 8-6.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

In their first game of the spring season, the Windham varsity baseball team took on Biddeford, at Windham on Friday, April 23 and started strong against the Tigers and battled inning after inning to keep the game close. Ultimately Biddeford managed to get by and won 8-6.

Senior Brady Afthim got things going for the Eagles in the bottom of the first when he sent the ball over the fence of left-center field to give Windham a 1-0 lead.

Biddeford answered and tied the game in the top of the second and took a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Windham junior Colby Raynor doubled. After a base hit, senior Ryan Silva made it to third after a passed ball; this brought in two runs. Freshman Login Desrochers brought in Silva; 4-2, Windham.

Biddeford tied the game at four in the top of the third.

Windham got things going again in the bottom of the fourth, when senior Jayson Plummer singled. Desrochers singled, as did Afthim. Windham had loaded the bases. Sophomore Alex Wing steps up to the plate and brought in Plummer and Desrochers making it, 6-4, Windham.

“Overall, (the team did) pretty solid,” said Afthim. “There were a couple mistakes here and there. It’s a pretty solid foundation to go off. I think we did pretty good for the first game out here.”

In the top of the fifth inning, Biddeford had loaded the bases. Afthim had been on the mound all game and held off any runners from making it to home plate by striking out three consecutive batters and ended Biddeford’s inning with the bases loaded.

In the top of the seventh, a triple from Biddeford tied the game at six. The Tigers scored two more runs before the inning was over.

“That was a game of the team that made the least mistakes was going to win,” said Windham coach, Cody Dube. “We battled, we had good momentum, good energy, good at-bats, which is nice to see early on.” <