Senior League World Series games memorable for Bangor hosts

BANGOR – As they basked in the glow of last Thursday’s 7-3 victory over San Pedro, Calif., in the Senior League World Series, members of the Bangor squad celebrated a win few people expected over a previously undefeated team.

The Bangor squad left this year’s series – the first of several that will be staged at the city’s Mansfield Stadium – with fond memories, a new competitive outlook … and one massive unanswered question: What if?

What if Bangor pitcher Josh Young had topped Canada in his first game, instead of losing 1-0 on an unearned run? What if Bangor hadn’t committed costly errors against Moscow in a 10-8 loss? What if the win over San Pedro had propelled the team into the semifinal round, instead of merely providing a final feel-good moment?

Bangor manager David Utterback said he knows what memory he’ll walk away with.

“Just the fact that we were in every game and we could have been 4-0,” he said. “We played with every team out there and I think we showed the whole field that we were for real, and we belonged here.”

Utterback said the Bangor team didn’t enjoy that respect before the tourney, but ended up earning it.

“I think coming into it, a lot of teams were kind of looking past us, saying, ‘This is the host team and they’re in here because they live here,'” Utterback said.

For Jordan Heath, the atmosphere at Mansfield Stadium was something he’ll remember.

“We’ve never played in front of a crowd as big as these, and that’s really exciting,” he said, referring to throngs of 1,500 to 2,000 fans who headed to the park to watch his team play.

At times, the fans sat silently as opponents scored against the hometown team. But when Bangor got rolling, or even threatened to score, the atmosphere changed. How much? Just ask Heath.

“Well, your ears start ringing after the game, so [it was] pretty loud,” he said.

“And then you get to see people from all over the world,” Heath said. “It’s nice to see how they play, and that they really don’t play much differently from the rest of us.”

Aaron Gallant said watching the eventual champs from Curacao was educational, in that several of that nation’s players are already gaining notice from pro scouts.

And getting to know some of their opponents was fun, too, Gallant said.

“When we went on our Acadia [National Park] trip, we got to talk to the Indiana kids and got to know them some,” he said. “For most of them, it was the first time they’d ever seen the ocean. So it was pretty cool.”

Brian Hackett said the entire week was interesting, and the Bangor win served as a nice capper.

“It was lots of fun,” Hackett said. “We got to meet all kinds of new kids, [see] a lot of different cultures, and play baseball with them. And we even won a game, to add to things.”

For pitching star Young, who finished the tourney without allowing an earned run in 14 innings of work, the experience is just starting to sink in.

“In my mind, these were the biggest four baseball games of my entire life, no matter what,” Young said.

“This was the World Series. You’re one of the top 10 teams in the whole world, which is a shock that you don’t realize until you’re done the tournament.”