Five athletes were recognized at Sluggers in Brewer on Monday for their success during the spring season. (Left to right: Thomas Spencer, Cassidy McLeod, Katelin Saunders, Karli Theberge and Nick Guerrette)
BREWER, Maine – The phrase, “practice makes perfect,” is common in the world of sports, and especially so in baseball and softball, where repetition is a major key in a player’s success.
While they may not be perfect, Karli Theberge and Nick Guerrette of Hermon High School, Katelin Saunders of Bucksport High School, Cassidy McLeod of Stearns High School and Thomas Spencer of Penobscot Valley High School have all put in extra work at Sluggers, an indoor baseball and softball training facility located on the Acme Road in Brewer, during the offseason in order to compete at a level above their competition.
The staff at Sluggers recognized the five standout athletes for their accomplishments during the spring season with a ceremony in front of family and friends at the Brewer facility on Monday.
The ceremony began with a brief welcome from owner, Karl Ward, and general manager, Brandon Portwine. Each player was then introduced individually and given a plaque by Tim Bush, the director of baseball at Sluggers.
“The fact that these players are drawn to coming here definitely validates us and makes us feel very good about what we do,” said Portwine.
The facility features 8,500 square feet of space for baseball and softball use. There are seven cages, five of which are retractable to reveal a Little League or softball regulation-size field. In the two cages that are not retractable, there are baseball and softball hitting simulators that use video screens showing pitchers going through their motions. There are also pitching mounds, special pitching nets, bats, helmets and other equipment that can be used.
Since opening in 2013, Sluggers has been a place for local athletes to improve their skills without being forced to travel long distances. Before opening, many athletes, like Theberge, were forced to travel to Portland to work out during the offseason.
Sluggers indoor baseball and softball training facility.
“Traveling to Portland isn’t always the easiest thing to do, and I used to do that a lot,” said Theberge. “It’s really been great.”
“If I would have had this in high school, I would have been in here every day,” said Bush. “It’s so cool to have this in our town, to be able to use it and to be affordable to everyone.”
Theberge was named the Penobscot Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year for softball in Class B. She led the conference with 12 wins, 113 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA in the regular season. She helped herself with her bat as well, leading the conference with 33 hits and a .623 batting average. She finished second in RBIs with 33, only four behind teammate Hailey Perry.
Theberge was also named one of the nine finalists for the Miss Maine Softball award by the Maine Softball Coaches Association. The award is given to the top senior softball player and will be announced at the Senior North-South All-Star games on Thursday, June 23, at Cony High School in Augusta.
Theberge and fellow Hawk, Guerrette, spent so much time at Sluggers that Bush began calling a portion of the training facility the “Hermon cages.”
Guerrette, who has been working out at Sluggers for about two years, wouldn’t be outdone by the accomplishments of his classmate. He was named the PVC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the year for baseball in Class B. Guerrette led the conference with 49 innings pitched, 49 strikeouts and seven wins in the regular season. Guerrette was second to Old Town’s Drew Coloumbe with a 0.57 ERA. He was among league leaders with 17 RBIs, 17 runs scored and a .419 batting average.
“It’s not often that both the softball and baseball team have someone who is both Pitcher and Player of the Year,” said Guerrette. “It’s a great honor.”
Guerrette was one of nine finalists for the Dr. John Winkin “Mr. Baseball” Award given to the top senior baseball player in the state. The winner will be announced before the start of the Class A-B North-South Senior All-Star Game on Friday, June 24. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and will take place at Colby College in Waterville.
Spencer was also named a finalist for the award. He was selected as the Class D North player of the year after leading Penobscot Valley to a 14-1 regular season. Spencer also helped the Howlers win the first regional baseball title in school history by defeating Fort Fairfield, 3-2.
“It’s a big deal to the town and to me because it’s something that we’ve wanted for a really, really long time,” said Spencer. “Winning the regional title was our goal, and we did that.”
He began training at Sluggers after meeting Bush at a UMaine summer camp. Bush suggested that Spencer should play for one of the Amateur Athletic Union teams that Sluggers offers.
“As soon as I started coming here and working with all the guys, I knew that this was the place to be if you wanted to be a good baseball player,” said Spencer.
Each senior on the 18U AAU team offered at Sluggers is slated to play college baseball next year. Spencer will continue his baseball career at Thomas College, where he will major in sports management with a specialty in sports marketing. Guerrette will be attending Husson University, where he will major in business administration and play baseball.
Theberge will be attending Castleton University in the fall, where she will major in health sciences and continue to pitch.
The talent produced by Sluggers isn’t just at the senior level. Saunders, a sophomore this year at Bucksport who has been coming to Sluggers since it opened, was named the PVC Pitcher of the Year for softball in Class C. She pitched the Bucks to the Class C North regional title, racking up 35 strikeouts in their three playoff wins.
Junior Cassidy McLeod makes the hour-long trip to Sluggers once a week, and the work she puts in has paid off for her. McLeod was named the PVC Player of the Year for softball in Class D in a season where she has hit 10 home runs and lead Stearns to its second straight state final. She finished the season by going 3-for-3 with a grand slam in the regional final victory over Madawaska and 4-for-4 with a triple in the state final loss to Richmond.
The five athletes recognized on Monday attributed their success during the spring season to the coaches and programs at Sluggers, but the coaches attribute the success to the extra work that the athletes put in to play at the level that they do.
“It wasn’t anything that we did for them, it was everything that they did,” said Bush. “I like to tell the players that we give them the tools, but they turn the wrench.”
