Houlton overcomes 6-run deficit to win District 3 All-Stars Championship

By Skip Hawkes
MaineSportsReport.com

Tuesday night in Holden, the Houlton 9-10 All-Stars overcame a six run deficit and scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to rally past Old Town and claim the 2009 District 3 Championship.

The Houlton 9-10 All-Stars defeated Old Town 8-6 Tuesday night in Holden to win the District 3 Championship. Photo by Skip Hawkes

Old Town jumped all over Houlton in the first inning to take a 6-0 lead, but that would be the end of the night in the scoring department for Old Town. The lead remained 6-0 until the fourth inning when Houlton scored three runs after Cameron Graham picked up their first hit of the game.

Houlton starting pitcher Graham settled down after the first inning and held Old Town scoreless until he was relieved by Isia Bouchard, who also kept Old Town scoreless. In the fifth inning Nick Cowperthwaite took over on the mound and breezed through the inning with just 13 pitches to retire Old Town.

Houlton's Nick Cowperthwaite earned the victory on the mound with two dominating innings. Photo by Skip Hawkes

Trailing 6-3 in the top of the sixth and down to their final three outs, Houlton began to rally taking advantage of some walks and Old Town miscues and some cluth hitting from Matt Tuttle to score five runs in the inning and take their first lead of the game at 8-6. Tuttle came through with his biggest hit of the tournament in the inning when he delivered a bases loaded double that scored three runs.

Now with an 8-6 lead and a chance to wrap up the tournament championship, Houlton had no choice but to come right back in the sixth with Cowperthwaite and see if he could slam the door on Old Town. Cowperthwaite delivered for his team mates, using just 12 pitches to shut down Old Town and close out the game. In his two innings pitched he did not allow a hit and struck out four to pick up the win in relief.

Billy Phillips had a double, single, and two RBI's to lead Houlton at the plate. Tuttle and Caleb Tribou each added a double and two RBI's, and Graham had two singles. Connor Grant chipped in with a base hit.

The Old Town 9-10 All-Star team poses for a photo prior to the championship game. Photo by Skip Hawkes

Dana Ouellette topped Old Town with a double and three RBI's. Cole Daniel, Nick Magoon, and Baxter Smith each had a single and an RBI. Nick Boutin, Caleb Gifford, and Ben Quimby each added a single.

HOULTON (5-0) 0 0 0 3 0 5 - - 8
OLD TOWN (4-2) 6 0 0 0 0 0 - - 6

Graham, Bouchard (4), Cowperthwaite (5) and Hagan; Gifford, Quimby (5), and Daniel

Winning Pitcher: Nick Cowperthwaite (2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 4 strikeouts)

Click Here for Championship Game Photo Gallery