Play Ball! Hodgdon Opens Season With Win Over Southern Aroostook
Play Ball!
The Hodgdon Hawks hosted the Southern Aroostook Warriors on Monday as both teams opened their 2022 regular season schedule. Both teams are expected to compete for the Class D North championship in June, making the season opener more important for the final heal-point standings.
Two teams facing the same issue
The Hodgdon and Southern Aroostook squads have both lost key players from last year's teams that met in the semifinal round of the playoffs. Last year Southern Aroostook had 4 players on their roster from Houlton high, who was unable to field a team in 2021. Hodgdon had been using players from Greater Houlton Christian Academy in recent years, but GHCA and Houlton High have a new co-op team agreement which has those players now on the 2022 Houlton team.
The Warriors threaten to score first
Southern Aroostook loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first inning, but Hodgdon was able to get out of the jam without giving up a run. The Hawks would then come to the plate and score 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Duttweiler baffles the Warriors bats
After the first inning the two teams would not threaten to score until Hodgdon plated a run in the bottom of the fourth, to take a 5-0 lead. Drew Duttweiler pitched 5 strong innings for the Hawks, striking out 9 Warriors batters. Hodgdon would put the game out of reach in the fifth inning, scoring 3 more runs to run out to an 8-0 lead.
Southern Aroostook would score their only run of the game in the sixth inning when Trafton Russell crossed home plate. Hodgdon would add one more run in the bottom of the frame, and ultimately win the game by a score of 9-1.
Up Next
The weather for the remainder of the week looks like it could cause postponements for teams scheduled to play. Hodgdon is slated to host the Katahdin Cougars on Wednesday, and Southern Aroostook will host Central Aroostook on Thursday.