by Will Tuell

From Henry Ferguson’s leadoff homerun that kicked off the Little League playoffs Thursday night against Calais to Lincoln Fergerson’s complete game shutout against Sunrise (western Washington County), the Machias Area Little League All-Stars dominated their competition in baseball and softball at every level and in every facet of the game as teams across Maine compete for regional and state glory that could ultimately lead to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania later this summer. Machias’s three teams combined for a 5-0 record, allowing no more than three runs in any given contest, with additional playoff games scheduled for this coming week. 

Ferguson, who won the League’s Tommy Thompson Award during an awards ceremony last week, drove in a pair of runs as the Machias 11-12 baseball All-Stars bested Calais Thursday night. Machias ace Luke Davis pitched a complete game en route to victory, while Taylor Holmes and Cameron Wood drove in runs as well. 

On Friday night, Machias fans’ attention was split between the 11-12 softball team and the 9-10 baseball team. The girls traveled to Blue Hill, where they throttled Coastal Little League 12-1 behind the powerhouse pitching of hurler and Happy Gardner Award winner Aubrey Wood who, despite giving up a run, lodged a no-hitter. The 9-10 boys, who made it to the state tournament in southern Maine last year, kicked off their season with an 11-1 triumph over Calais at the Beal Field in Machias as Wood’s younger brother, Brantley, proved that pitching prowess runs in the family, pitching a no-hitter through 3.2 innings of play and holding Calais to one run. The younger Wood also struck out nine batters. 

With the specter of rain looming, Saturday’s games proved to be something of a question mark, yet the weather held off for both boys' games in Machias. 

The 11-12 boys squared off against plucky Acadia (Mount Desert Island), who jumped out to an early 3-1 against pitcher Taylor Holmes's lead and held it through the early innings. Still, Machias, who made solid contact and got nothing to show for it early, erupted for six runs in the third to surge ahead 7-3. Pitcher Giovani “Gio” Favuzzi had entered the game the inning prior, holding Acadia scoreless through the middle innings before being substituted for Casey Fitzsimmons in the top of the fifth with two runners on. Favuzzi would blow the game wide open in with a three-run blast that left the Beal Field in the bottom of the fifth, and Fitzsimmons would slam the door shut in the sixth as Machias picked up the 11-3 win. 

Not to be outdone, the 9-10 boys, led by Cutler’s Lincoln Fergerson, came out early against Sunrise and blanked the western Washington County nine in a complete game shutout. Machias bats pounded out twelve runs before the game was called in the middle of the fifth due to the run rule. 

Machias will play additional games throughout the week in their effort to advance out of the regional phase of the playoffs to the statewide stage in mid-July.  

This week promises to be another full week of action for Machias teams -- weather permitting. 11-12 softball will travel to Calais for their second game Monday, June 26, while the 8-9-10 softball team will play their first game of the playoff season against Sunrise (western Washington County) Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the 11-12 baseball team returns to action as they head to Ellsworth for a 5:30 p.m. contest, and Friday, the 9-10 baseball team will face Ellsworth at Beal Field in Machias. As the weather is predicted to be rainy throughout the week, schedules may be adjusted.

Pitcher Brantley Wood winds up on the mound. Photo by Tammy Wood