Curacao’s Offerman to be a Patriot

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Curacao’s Senior League World Series championship team apparently liked its experience in Bangor last summer so much that another member of the team is moving to the area.

Eugene Offerman, who pitched for Curacao last summer in the games at Mansfield Stadium, will attend Bangor Christian School starting this fall and plans to play on the Patriots’ varsity baseball team.

Offerman will be living in Winterport with Bangor Christian School teachers Rich and Erin Lowell. Rich Lowell teaches Bible studies and government, while Erin Lowell is a kindergarten teacher.

Offerman will be a senior at Bangor Christian. He spent last year at a high school in Marblehead, Mass.

He joins former Curacao Senior League teammate Arshwin Asjes, who attended MDI High School this year and played for both the Trojans and the Trenton Acadians, an American Legion team.

Rich Lowell said it’s his understanding that Offerman wants to finish high school and would like to play baseball at the University of Maine.

“I believe he was looking for a smaller school with a good setting,” Lowell said. “I think he has interest in playing at UMaine.”

Offerman is believed in be in Curacao now but is heading back to Maine this weekend to watch his teammates in this year’s World Series. He could not be reached for comment.

Rich Lowell also served as an assistant baseball coach but didn’t get a chance to see Offerman during the World Series because he was out of town.

The two met a few weeks ago, when Offerman visited the area.

“He’s a really well-mannered kid, really polite,” said Lowell, who serves as Bangor Christian’s summer camp director and gave Offerman a tour of the school. “He’s easy-going, so he’s going to fit in real well in my house.”

The Lowells agreed to host Offerman after assistant principal Mike Blake asked for volunteers.

Offerman recently pitched for the Netherlands Antilles, of which Curacao is a part, in the Junior Pan Am Cup. In a July 15 appearance against the U.S., he gave up three hits and a run in 3 2/3 innings, with four walks and two strikeouts. Asjes also played on that team.

Offerman, a member of the Curacao team that charmed the Bangor crowds en route to the World Series title, was 1-1 last summer, including a win to get Curacao into the World Series final.

He also attracted attention because of his last name. Offerman is believed to be a relative of former Boston Red Sox second baseman Jose Offerman.

Field continues to fill

Washington County has qualified for the Senior League World Series.

No, not that Washington County – it’s a team representing Washington County, Texas, Little League that won a bid to the World Series when it took the U.S. Southwest division championship Sunday.

That brings the number of teams which have qualified for the tournament, which starts Sunday at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, to five.

Defending champion Curacao, which again won the Latin America division, will return to Bangor as will Europe winner Khovrino Little League of Moscow, Russia, which won its division last Friday.

Guam will represent the Asia Pacific region. Orono-Veazie earned the automatic berth reserved for the winner of Maine’s District 3.

The rest of the field will be filled out Aug. 7, when tournaments for Canada and the U.S. South, East, West, and Central divisions are scheduled to conclude.

The World Series opens with a game between the East and Central champs at 1 p.m. The South and West winners will meet at 3:30 p.m. Guam and Texas East play at 6 p.m., and Orono-Veazie will take on Canada’s representative at 8:30 p.m.

Curacao will play its first game Monday at 1 p.m. against Texas East.

The East tournament is taking place in West Deptford, N.J. The West teams are gathered in Lemoore, Calif. The South tourney is being held in Toccoa, Ga., and the Central tournament is in Peru, Ill. Canadian teams are in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Most of those tournaments were at the semifinal round Tuesday. Championship games are scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, another Maine team is still alive in its tournament. In the East, Massachusetts was matched up against Pennsylvania and Maine winner Auburn was to face Connecticut.

In the South, Virginia took on Alabama and Georgia played North Carolina. The Central division was wrapping up its quarterfinals, with Kentucky and Iowa each awaiting the winner of a Tuesday game.

The West division was to crown its champion Tuesday night as Hilo Little League of Hawaii was to play Lincoln Glen Little League of San Jose, Calif.

In Canada, the title and World Series berth will come down to a game between British Columbia and Prairie.

Texas East beat Texas West of San Antonio 26-16 for the Southwest championship, which was held in Grand Junction, Colo. Texas East also topped Louisiana 16-2 and Mississippi 13-5 before falling to Texas West 13-6. Texas East rebounded with a 6-2 win over Colorado in a semifinal, and then defeated Texas West in the final.

Russia started the Europe tournament, which was held in Frankfurt, Germany, with a 3-0 victory over host Rheinland Little League. The Saudia Arabia entry beat Russia 10-9, but Russia came back with a 13-0 shutout of Austria and a 14-6 win over Poland to get to the final. Russia beat Rheinland 6-1 for the crown.