Lumberjacks open NEL season tonight Bangor hits road to take on Allentown

BANGOR – Play ball … Finally!

That’s pretty much the way anyone even remotely connected to the Bangor Lumberjacks professional baseball team feels.

Fans will still have to wait another eight days to see the Lumberjacks play locally, but a long wait for the Northeast League’s newest team will be over at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“I’m very excited. I’ve been involved basically, on and off, for the last five years since the Bangor Blue Ox left town,” said principal owner and Bangor native Charles “Chip” Hutchins. “It’s very satisfying. I’ve looked forward to this for awhile.”

Seven months after Hutchins reached an agreement with Charles Jacey to buy the Adirondack Lumberjacks and move them from Glens Fall, N.Y., to Bangor, his team will begin its season on the road at Allentown, Pa., against the Ambassadors.

Hutchins will be attending the game along with Lumberjacks general manager Curt Jacey, Charles Jacy’s son, and Hutchins’ father Christopher. He’s looking forward to seeing the team play for real.

“I went to practice last night and they looked great,” Hutchins said. “I’m extremely impressed with the team I saw. I think they’re going to be contenders.”

On paper, the team appears to have a good mix of youth and veteran leaders, power and speed, pitching depth and defensive ability; but this is still preseason, when everyone looks and feels like a league champion.

Team manager Kash Beauchamp knows this as well as anyone, but he still can’t help being enthused about his team’s prospects less than a year after he helped lead a Lumberjacks team that came within a strike of winning the NEL title.

“I didn’t have to be sold on coming here [Bangor],” Beachamp said. “Last year was so enjoyable for me I wanted to stick with Curt and the team if possible. The great thing about this is we’re bringing the majority of those guys to Bangor and I feel like we had just a wonderful team.”

That list of returning Lumberjacks starts with designated hitter and 2002 league MVP Lorenzo de la Cruz, who was among the top five NEL players in batting average (first), home runs, RBIs (first), hits (first), on-base percentage, and slugging.

Other key returnees are outfielders Stephen King and Juan Silvestre, catcher Brad Hargreaves, shortstop Mitsuru Kobayashi, and left-handed pitcher Danny Miller.

Bangor’s home opener is 7 p.m. Friday, May 30 against the New Jersey Jackals.