By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

After more than a decade’s absence, Twilight League baseball is officially returning to the Twin Cities.

The Lewiston/Auburn team, featuring 21 local players 18 years-old and over, will open its season at 1 p.m. Sunday at Pettengill Park against Patriot Mutual Insurance.

Manager Tom Bourdon made the final cuts to his roster this week. He said the team is still looking for sponsors, but will be ready to open its 30-game season on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a good mix,” he said. “I look forward to it being a lot of fun.”

Bourdon has managed in the league the last four years and led Lender’s Network to the league championship last year as player/manager, a role he will continue with the league’s newest team.

He said the team is drawing from a large area, with players from as far away as Augusta and Farmington making the team. The roster includes a lot of locals just coming off a spring of college baseball, including Nick Lawler and Tyler and Ryan Turgeon from Bowdoin College, Chad Schrepper from Franklin Pierce and Evan Durrer, of Lynchburg College in Virginia, who was named the most valuable pitcher in last year’s Twilight League playoffs.

Bourdon said the roster is well-stocked with pitching and defense, two keys to success in the wooden bat league.

“I think it’s going to be an interesting team to start with,” he said. “I think we’ve got some pretty good talent.”

The recent wet weather made it difficult to whittle down the roster from about 30 area players who were seeking a spot. The team held indoor tryouts last Sunday at Poland Regional High School. Bourdon was hoping to get outside before today to make his final decisions, but couldn’t get a break in the clouds.

“It would have been nice to get one more look, but I’ve been doing this long enough now where even just getting them inside and getting a look at them in the cage and taking grounders and throwing, I could tell who might be able to help us,” he said.

The team has gotten sponsorship help for its caps and uniforms from Northeast Athletics and Roguewear, but is still searching for a title sponsor and will only be known as “Lewiston/Auburn” until it finds one.

“(Finding sponsorships) is always a big problem for this age group because we’re kind of caught in between,” said Bourdon, who is a catcher. “We’re not a youth organization and we’re not an adult league.”

Finding a home field for 15 games was less of a problem. The team will play some home dates at Pettengill through June, then switch over to Auburn Suburban Little League, once its season is finished.

“We’ve met with the board over there and ironed out a few previous sticking points,” said Twilight League president Jim Baumer, who also manages the Patriot Mutual team that will face Lewiston/Auburn Sunday. “Securing the Suburban facility was a key for us and we’re pleased at the Suburban board’s willingness to allow us to use their facility.”

The Twilight League is made up of six teams, most based in the Portland area, and is entering its 103rd year of existence. The last team to represent the Twin Cities was the Auburn Asas.

The top four teams in the league qualify for the playoffs, with a best-of-three semifinal and best-of-five final determining the champion in mid-August.