ACADIANS ARE DISTRICT CHAMPS AND HEADING TO STATES TOMORROW!
BAR HARBOR—It begins with a chant.
“Who are we? Acadians. Who are we? Acadians. Who are we? Acadians! Acadians on three, family on six.”
That chant has led the Acadian Youth Sports Little League softball team of 11 and 12 year olds to the state championships in Rockland on Saturday, July 6.
The team of Melodie Jacobs, Izzy DeRevere, Lucie Pike, Miranda Dwyer, Angel Ellis, Lilly Hall, Amaya Tripp, Laceigh Trenhlm, Eliza Chipman, Penelope Edulnd, and Avery Norwood became District 1 tournament champions, June 28, thanks to a definitive 13-2 win over Coastal. The opening ceremony is at 8:30 a.m.
“The girls will be on the field with their banners and all the other champions in celebration of making it,” Coach Travis Tripp.
The girls play Biddeford at 2 p.m.
They’ll be doing their chant there, too. The last word of that is “family” and according to Tripp that’s a big part of what makes the team special.
“The core group of this team has been competing for championships for the past four years, losing three times in championship games,” Tripp said. “They wanted that (District One) banner and through a lot of hard work they got theirs.”
It’s a young team in age, with only four league age 12 players and two league age 10 players.
It didn’t hold them back.
”We were able to advance through the districts scoring, in average, 14 runs a game,” Tripp said. At the district championships, he said, “the offense was led by Amaya Tripp, Avery Norwood, Penelope Edlund.”
Tripp batted .800 with three runs batted in (RBI) with nine runs and nine stolen bases, Norwood batted .625 with five RBIs with five runs, three stolen bases. Edlund batted .571 with five RBIs with six runs and five stolen bases.
“On the mound, Melodie Jacobs stood tall with a 3-0 record, striking out 26 over those three games while having a 3.50 ERA,” Tripp said. “Her battery mate, Angel Ellis, was solid on defense, slowing down the running game of opposing teams.”
At Districts’ the team first beat Machias, 15-7. In game two, the Acadians defeated Coastal 14-3. The championship game was another match-up with Coastal and the Acadians came away with a well-earned 13-2 victory.
“The mindset of the girls to win as a team was what truly propelled them,” Tripp said, “that and the solid defense that they showcased especially against Machias where they were able to turn a triple play off a line drive to second baseman Miranda Dwyer.”
Dwyer then threw to first for the second out followed by Edlund throwing to Tripp at second for the third. For good measure, Tripp threw it to third for a fourth out on one play.
The girls’ minor league team lost on their second game, July 3, to Bucksport. The major league girls cheered them on both games.
That’s because sometimes a chant is sometimes a cheer is sometimes a way of life.
Every one of the team’s games ends with that cheer, too.
“Who are we? Acadians. Who are we? Acadians. Who are we? Acadians! Acadians on three, family on six.”
ACADIAN JUNIORS
The Acadians Juniors defeated Sunrise Allstars earlier this week with a final score of 7-5. The boys had a late come-from-behind rally in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs to put the team ahead.
“With an exciting finish getting those 3 outs in the 7th to close it out,” Anthony Ricardo said. “Great all-around team effort from the boys to get their first District tournament win!”
Next up for the Juniors is a home game (MDIHS) vs Coastal (Blue Hill) Friday, July 5, at 5 p.m.
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