The Edward Little baseball team shows their camaraderie and fun-loving closeness by forming three “canoes” on Monday before their practice at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Edward Little’s postseason romp has been a stunning testimonial to its resilience and camaraderie.
The Red Eddies are like a group of magicians who have recently pulled three come-from-behind playoff victories out of their baseball caps against talented teams.
Their magical mystery tour continues Tuesday night at 5 p.m., when seven-ranked Edward Little (11-8) squares off against top-seeded Bangor (17-1) the Class A North final at Morton Field in Augusta.
“I am not positive we peaked yet,” Edward Little coach Dave Jordan said. “We have a very good opponent (Bangor) coming up. They are the standard for Class A baseball, but we look forward to the challenge.
“It’s just going up there and playing our game. If it works out that we make the plays that we need to, get some timely hitting, we will see what happens.”
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Edward Little has become a company of heroes, with a variety of players taking turns pushing the Red Eddies over the top.
“It is hard for one guy to always be on and be the person,” Jordan said. “Luckily, we’ve had a number of different people come up in big situations for us. I think our guys have developed some really good team unity. They are really playing for each other.
“They really enjoy being on the field everyday. They don’t want it to end. They don’t want to have a practice on Monday and be done on Tuesday. They are going to do everything to extend it. They really get along on and off the field, too. They are checking in their egos at the door right now.”
Senior outfielder Braden Paradie feels it his duty to keep his teammates’ heads in the game.
“I do that because making sure everyone’s heads are on right, making sure we are doing the right thing.” Paradie said. “The biggest thing for us is staying fired up. In order to play well, we have to be fired up and be together as a team. I think that is a really big part of why we have been doing so well.
“I think we have great team culture. Everyone on the team gets a long and we really enjoy being with each other. I think that is a really big factor in the game of baseball …”
Campbell Cassidy’s two-run walk-off triple in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed the Eddies to escape with a 5-4 victory over 10th-seeded against Camden Hills in a Class A North first-round game.
In the quarterfinals, Edward Little used a 10-run, fourth-inning rally to overpower second-seeded Oxford Hills and win 11-6.
Then, Saturday, the Red Eddies organized a three-run uprising and then there was a game-sealing, eye-opening putout by shortstop Kamden Masselli, allowing Edward Little to slip away with a 4-3 victory over talented Mt. Ararat in the semifinals.
Coach Dave Jordan, right, gets some help unloading the “Suburban locker room” from the Edward Little baseball player on Monday before practice at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. The team practices in several locations and Jordan’s car serves as home base for the team. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
“Typical EL team,” Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase said on Saturday. “They are going to make you get 21 outs. There’s not going to be easy outs. They are going to put pressure on you.”
‘ALWAYS FELT WE COULD MAKE A RUN’
The Red Eddies’ improvement over the course of the regular season has helped make for a successful playoff run — so far.
“ A lot of our pitchers are younger guys, and during the season, we were making mistakes in the field,” Jordan said. “We’ve just got to the point where, for the most part, we are fielding the ball a lot better, backing up our pitchers where we are having better at-bats.
“We’ve always felt that we could make a run in the playoffs. We have enough talent there. It was just a matter everything working at the right time.”
The Edward Little coach also points to diligent players like sophomore pitcher Drew Smith, who Jordan calls the hardest working player on the team.
“I am looking to take this sport far …” Smith said. “For me to play my best game, if we work hard, it helps the team as well. Egos can get in the way of some things, but you’ve got to remember, it is a team. It takes (all the) guys on the field to win a game.
“I think we are a great group of kids. We all have great chemistry between everyone. We work hard in practice and enjoy each other’s company.”
Jordan said he has been giving pitchers longer rests “because we needed more than two guys to make a run at the playoffs. Besides, we have a lot of guys working on the side in case we need them. I think the guys really bought into that.”
Jordan also gives full credit to assistant coaches and volunteers — like Matt Strong, Billy Merrill, Jordan Croteau, Nate Pushard and John Simpson — who have kept the Red Eddies on track.
“It all comes down to how to get runs,” Jordan said. “If you are leaving guys on base and things like that, then most likely you are going home.”
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