All-stars taking next step Hampden team seeks regional title

Rodney Wells has coached softball at several levels over the years – including at Hampden Academy – but he’s never seen a team with the work ethic of his Hampden-Newburgh-Winterport Junior Leaguers.

Wells credits that work ethic – both from parents and players – for the results the team has had this summer. The girls won the state championship for ages 13-14 last week in Alfred and are off to the East Regional tournament in Syracuse, N.Y.

“Their No. 1 asset is their work ethic,” he said. “The high school kids can’t even compare.”

The team leaves for New York Friday morning.

The tournament teams are divided in two, six-team pools based on geography. Hampden-Newburgh-Winterport, the Maine representative, will go into a pool that likely includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The top two teams in each pool advance to play each other. The ultimate winner advances to the Junior League World Series.

The Hampden-Newburgh-Winterport squad went 4-1 in the state tourney with a 10-0 win over Scarborough in the final. Scarborough had a 5-4 win in the first game between the teams.

Wells has been coaching this group of girls for five years, but this year he has volunteer parent-coaches. That allows the team to break into small groups to work on specific parts of the game.

While some girls on work on bunting with a parent-coach, for example, others can take a few swings in the cage while Wells works on pitching and defense with yet another group.

“It’s amazing what we can get done in a practice,” said Wells, who also coaches the Hampden Academy team during the spring high school season. “That’s been the key.”

The team has always had good pitching, but this year the offense and defense have been strong, too.

Lacey Littlefield recorded three shutouts at the state tournament. Michelle Wells, Rodney Wells’ daughter, pitched a two-hitter in a 14-2 win over Scarborough.

Leadoff hitter-shortstop Mikki Libbey had the highest batting average on the team, while Michelle Wells had the most hits. Both girls batter over .400. Amanda Palmer is the cleanup hitter. Kate Plowman and Ashley Gott, one of the top catchers in Junior League according to Wells, are other top batters.

Defensively, Eva Shannon has been one of the squad’s most versatile players. She can play second when Michelle Wells is pitching or right field when Littlefield is pitching, and also serves as the backup catcher.

Kasey Belcher, Morgan Doyon, Angelica Davenport, Tara Utecht and Krysta Witham round out the team.

The experience of the team is impressive.

As 9-10 year olds, the girls made it to the semifinals at the state level. As 11-12 year olds the team won the state title and advanced to a regional in Delaware. Earlier this summer the team (minus three girls who are too old to play Little League) won the state ASA tournament, which it only entered as a warm-up for Junior League.

But the girls still get nervous before games.

“I always talk to them about that,” Wells said. “If you’re not nervous what’s the point? There’s not a time in the game when you’ll be more focused.”