Ponies proving they belong amongst Class B elite

Coach Scott Anderson’s softball team just put together one of the best weeks in program history, knocking off unbeaten PCHS 6-3 on the road on Tuesday, walking off with a dramatic 1-0 win over defending state champions Hermon on Wednesday, and rallying from a 7-0 deficit to win 12-11 at Ellsworth on Friday.

Desirae Brawn’s two-out double in the bottom of the seventh plated Gabie Johnson for the walk-off victory over Hermon in a game that represented a turning point for Coach Anderson’s program. “It helps so much for everyone involved to see how we can compete and play with one of the best programs in the state.” he said. “When everyone does their job, we can grind out some tough wins. It was a great feeling and probably one of the best wins the program has seen. They all played with confidence and stepped it up big time.”

The Ponies are now 6-2 at the midseason point and are ranked second in the Class B East Heal Point standings. “So far the season has gone like we planned and expected,” said Anderson. “I am very happy with where we are at this point. We set team goals and individual goals and are working hard to meet them. There is a lot of season left and a lot of work still left to do. We are taking it one game at a time and trying to string wins together.”

Through eight games, Avery Carroll paces the Ponies with a .478 average, 10 runs, 10 stolen bases, seven walks, and six RBI. Alli Bourget has been red-hot of late, raising her average to .469 while collecting nine steals and seven runs. Grace Bickford continues to hit the ball with authority and is now batting .448 with five doubles, a home run, 10 runs, seven stolen bases, and six RBI. Johnson (.375, three doubles), Liz Richard (.357, seven steals), Abbi Bourget (9-17 with four RBI), Kiara Prescott (.348, four steals), Jenna Clukey (.313, five runs), and Brawn (.276, four doubles, six RBI) have also hit the ball well for a Pony offense that is hitting .378 and has scored 52 runs.

Clukey tossed a complete-game shutout against Hermon and has thrown a team-high 38 innings on the mound. The freshman is now 4-1 with 24 strikeouts.

The Ponies will face a stern test at unbeaten and top-ranked Old Town on Tuesday. “We need to play like we did against Hermon,” said Anderson, whose team fell to the Coyotes 16-4 on May 8. “We played our worst possible game against Old Town last time at home, and I believe we learned from it. For us to have a solid game we need to be more consistent on the field. I feel we are getting better at that. Our plan is to play solidly, grind out the game, and give our team a chance to beat them on their field. One thing for sure is that we know we can pull out a close game.”

Following the Old Town game, the Ponies will be off until they travel to Hermon on Thursday the 21st.

Photo of Desirae Brawn taken by Kirio Yu ’16. Click here to see more of her great work from the Hermon game.

Baseball knocks off PCHS and Hermon, falls at Ellsworth

The Foxcroft baseball team piled up 37 hits in just over 24 hours in a 28-5 win at PCHS on Tuesday and a 10-0 win over visiting Hermon on Wednesday. But the Pony bats were silenced on Friday, as they were held to three hits by reigning PVC Player of the Year Conor Maguire in a 3-1 loss at Ellsworth. Coach Mark Chevalier’s team is now 6-2 and ranked fourth in Class B East heading into a rematch on Tuesday with top-ranked and unbeaten Old Town, who defeated the Ponies 12-3 in Dover-Foxcroft on May 8.

All nine Ponies who have stepped to the plate at least 20 times are hitting over .300. Talon Strout leads the balanced attack with a .444 average and has scored eight runs while driving in six. Brooks Law (.423, 10 RBI, eight runs), Abe Simpson (.400, 8 RBI, 8 stolen bases), Dylan Huff (.385, five runs), Chandler Rockwell (.375, 10 runs, nine steals), Clay Carroll (.364, seven runs, six steals), Nate Church (.333, seven runs), Nick Decker (.304, nine RBI, five stolen bases), and Eli Olson (.304, seven RBI) have all been major contributors to an offense that has plated 78 runs in eight games.

Simpson tossed a complete-game shutout against Hermon and is now 3-0 with an 0.94 ERA in 16.33 innings of work. Decker was the hard-luck loser at Ellsworth after yielding just three hits over five innings of works and paces the staff with 19 strikeouts in 14.33 innings. Church continues to be dynamite out of the bullpen, conceding just five hits and one walk while striking out eight hitters over 7.33 scoreless frames.

Photo of Brooks Law taken by Holly Ly ’15. Click here to see more excellent photos from the Hermon game.

Perfect week for tennis teams

Both the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams posted a perfect record of 2-0 last week, raising the boys’ overall mark to 5-1 and the girls’ mark to 4-2. (Note: an earlier loss to John Bapst for the boys’ team has since been overturned due to a rules infraction.)

Coach Ryan Dankert’s boys’ team is currently ranked eighth in Class B East while the girls sit in 10th. “I’m pleased with the teams’ records so far,” said Dankert, “but I still feel that our best tennis is ahead of us.”

The boys defeated Hermon 3-2 on Tuesday and Old Town 3-2 on Friday. On Tuesday, Fernando Caceres earned a win in singles while both doubles’ teams (Bram Dennis-Nick Boyd and Woo Jun Kim-Kazu Kawashima) picked up victories. On Friday, Caceres won again, KO Zhong won his singles’ match, and Dennis-Boyd earned another doubles’ win.

The girls beat Hermon 5-0 and knocked off Old Town 3-2. On Tuesday, Madison Fadley, Ricky Chen, and Jen Boyer took care of business in singles while Lexi Raymond-Sophia Kurzius and Hannah Vainio-Jessica Breton won their doubles’ matches. Fadley and Chen won again on Friday while Raymond-Kurzius picked up the pivotal victory in doubles.

Photo of Ricky Chen taken by Youjin Choi ’16. Photos from the Hermon match will be posted on the FA Flickr page soon.

Track team rounding into form

The Foxcroft track team competed in a nine-team meet at Bangor High School last Tuesday, with the boys securing 119 points to finish in second place and the short-handed girls’ team placing eighth. Hunter Smith carried the load for the Ponies, winning all three jumping events (high jump, long jump, triple jump) and finishing runner-up in the 200-meter dash.

Also placing in the top three in individual events for the Ponies were Pete Boyer (1st in the shot put, 2nd in the discus), Edison Chen (2nd in the long jump), and Brandon Brock (3rd in the javelin). Julian Zepeda, Dylan Richards, Justin Diamond, and Evan Chadbourne took second in the 4×100-meter relay; Diamond, Boyer, James Smith, and Chen were third in the 4×400; and Nathnael Feleke, Gabe Piquette, Kelly Erickson, and Liam Casey placed third in the 4×800.

Saturday at MDI, the boys’ team finished third behind MDI and George Stevens while the girls finished sixth. Full results have not been released by the league, but three Ponies won individual events–Pete Boyer (shot put and discus), Annie Rich (javelin), and Hunter Smith (triple jump, 110-meter hurdles)–and Kohei Kotani, Nathnael Feleke, Paul Birtwistle, and Gabe Piquette added a victory in the 4×800-meter relay.

Coach Rob Weber is pleased with the progress his team has shown throughout the early part of the season. “The boys’ team has continued to score above 115 points in all three regular season meets despite missing some key regulars,” he said. “Three meets in eight days was a demanding stretch, but the kids responded to the challenge well, and I expect to see some tremendous performances later this season.”

The Ponies will compete at Bucksport on Thursday.

Photo of Pete Boyer was taken by Isaac Whittemore ’15.