Travis Brooker said it has been a “little boring” being the starting shortstop for the District 3 champion Bangor West Little League All-Star team during this playoff season.

It’s not that he doesn’t play well with his teammates. It’s just that two of his teammates prevent him from having much to do during a game.

Pitchers Jeremy Karam and Barrett Dionne have kept most of their fielders inactive through Bangor West’s five District 3 Little League tournament victories.

Opponents have had only one hit during those 28 innings, and Karam and Dionne have combined to strike out 63 batters. There have been only two balls hit out of the infield, both off Dionne.

They have walked just eight hitters.

Karam, a lefty, has two no-hitters and a four-inning no-hitter with 35 strikeouts and seven walks. Dionne, a right-hander, has pitched a one-hitter and a perfect game. He has struck out 28 and given up just one walk.

“Two pitchers of this caliber don’t come around very often,” said former University of Maine shortstop Dennis Libbey, vice president of the Bangor West Side Little League. “In my limited time involved with Little League, they’re the best one-two tandem I’ve seen.”

“We’re blessed with two kids who can throw the ball well ,” said Bangor West coach Mike Brooker. “They are both power pitchers. There are a lot of kids who can throw the ball 65 miles an hour, but these kids can throw it for strikes.”

Karam is the more experienced of the two. He was the No. 2 pitcher for last year’s district championship team as an 11-year-old. Bangor West came within one victory of winning the state championship. Auburn Suburban beat them twice on the final day to wrest the title from them.

Dionne did not make the all-star team but played for a team of Bangor West 11-year-olds.

“Barrett was good last year but we had Dennis (McGrath) and Jeremy and some other kids who threw pretty well, so we thought it would be best for Barrett to pitch regularly for the 11-year-old team,” explained Brooker.

“I learned a lot more playing with the 11-year-olds,” said Dionne. “I wouldn’t have been able to pitch as much as I wanted if I had made the all-star team.”

Karam, meanwhile, saw plenty of mound duty for the all-stars and pitched well in the state tournament.

He beat Waldo County 4-3 on a complete-game six-hitter, striking out nine. Then he pitched 1 2/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief in the championship game, a 15-5 loss to Auburn Suburban. He also had a good tournament at the plate, going 4-for-9 with a homer and a double, three runs scored and two RBIs from the lead-off spot.

“We didn’t play our best. After we lost the first game to Auburn Suburban (4-2), we lost our confidence,” said Karam.

Karam went right to work after the disappointing finish. He began lifting weights, running and doing a variety of stretching exercises that have paid dividends this year.

“I’m a lot better than I was last year. My control has improved a lot,” said Karam. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect. Now I do. So I’m more calm out on the mound.”

Their deliveries are slightly different.

Karam is more over-the-top and Dionne is more three-quarter arm.

“Barrett might be a little quicker, but Jeremy changes speeds more,” said Bangor West assistant Jim McInnis, a former pitcher for John Bapst High School who is Karam’s stepfather.

The 5-foot-3, 108-pound Karam has a curve and he possesses a sinker that he throws with the seams. However, he only uses the curve and sinker when he needs them.

Ricky McHale, a standout pitcher and catcher for Bucksport’s Little League all-star team, has faced Karam several times during the past four years.

“He’s really quick. When he lets go of the ball, it’s right there going by you already,” said McHale.

McHale’s dad, Rick, said Karam “challenges every hitter. He throws it right down the middle, 100 miles an hour, and says hit me. And nobody can hit him.

“But the most impressive thing about him is his personality,” added McHale. “He isn’t cocky. He’s such a pleasant kid.”

Dionne, the son of David and Robin Dionne, throws almost exclusively fastballs.

“I’ve been around Little League a long time and I’ve never seen a kid throw that hard,” said Hampden coach Pedro Quint, whose team lost twice to Dionne. “He was right around the plate all the time and he was really determined. He’s a real competitor. I was also really impressed with his composure.”

Quint’s son, Josh, was the catcher for the Hampden team, and he called Dionne the best pitcher he’s ever faced.

“You get really nervous when you’re up there. Half a second after he releases the ball, it’s right there,” said the younger Quint. “And he’s got a little bit of a sidearm motion so the ball comes right in towards you. You try to step back for a second and it’s a strike.”

Dionne pitched only one game during the regular Little League season because he injured an arm while pitching for the Garland Street Junior High School B team.

“My arm isn’t 100 percent, but it’s good enough for me to be able to pitch,” said Dionne, who wasn’t really interested in pitching. He tried it at the urging of his father and coach Mike St. Pierre a few years ago and discovered that he enjoyed it.

Karam has been pitching practically from day one. Karam is the son of Glenn and Becky Karam and McInnis’ stepson.

In addition to their pitching prowess, they are two of the team’s best hitters and each plays center field when the other is pitching.

Both pitchers have a lot of confidence in each other and in their teammates.

“I know if I lose the first game (of a tournament), you’ll never find a team with a second pitcher as good as Barrett,” said Karam.

“We have a good defense behind us so we know they’ll make the plays,” said Dionne.

Karam and Dionne are setting their sights on the State Little League Tournament that will be played on their Bangor West field beginning next Saturday.

Bangor High School Coach Bob Kelley said this spring that he would probably coach three more seasons.

With Karam and Dionne on the horizon, he may want to stay awhile longer.