PARIS — The Western Mountain Cal Ripken league was in its first year of existence this past summer, drawing teams from Dixfield, Mexico, Peru, Rumford and Rumford Point.

The league consisted of nine minor league teams (farm league) and eight major league teams (little league). The league was under the direction of league president Eddie Paterson.

Last month, the Western Mountain 11U team competed in the 15-team state tournament and did not disappoint.

The opening game on Friday night was the best game of the night according to tournament officials. WM played Sebago- Long Lake in a thriller, but came up a little short as Sebago walked off with the 8-7 win.WM forced Sebago to score four runs in the bottom of the 6th to come away with the victory.

WM came out of the gate quickly with two runs in the top of the first. Back-to-back singles by Garrett Garbarini and Alex Gorham got the inning started. A walk to Ethan Laubauskas loaded the bases.

It appeared that WM would leave the bases loaded, but two wild pitches by the Sebago pitcher plated Garbarini and Gorham, which gave WM an early 2-0 lead.

The score stayed that way until the fourth inning when WM plated three runs on four straight singles by Will Sorensen, Jacob Blanchard, Phillip Mills and Chase Thebarge.

WM scored one run each in the fifth and sixth innings, highlighted by a Keegan Davis triple and a double by Thebarge.

The score was 7-4 in favor of WM going into the bottom of the 6th inning when things unraveled. Three errors and a couple of walks allowed Sebago to steal an 8-7 victory.

“We let this one slip away. It really put us in a hole, because coming out of the losers bracket right off is never an easy task,” said Coach Ryan Palmer.

Thebarge, Garbarini and Gorham each had three hits apiece in the losing effort.

WM didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on its loss as it took the field again early Saturday morning to face Berwick.

An offensive explosion paved the away for WM to get their first win of the tourney. WM once again scored two quick runs in the top of the first, led by a triple from Thebarge, singles from Gorham and Laubauskas and a sacrifice fly from Davis.

Things were quiet until the fourth inning, when WM batted around the order. A seven-hit inning was led by doubles from Garbarini and Sorensen and a towering two-run home run from Gorham.

“I’ve seen a lot of homers from little league-aged kids over the years, but Gorham’s was an absolute bomb,” Palmer said.

WM scored two more times in the fifth. Jonah Downs walked to get things started.

The team cruised to a 11-4 win, avoiding elimination. Thebarge and Gorham had three hits each and Gorham was the winning pitcher.

After each game, the head scorekeeper and members of the protest committee selected a player of the game award. Gorham was the recipient for this game, going 3-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBIs. He also recorded five strikeouts in three innings on the mound.

In the third game of the tournament, WM played Bath and the offensive outburst continued with nine runs in the first two innings, which allowed WM to save pitching in a convincing 14-4 win.

Laubauskas and Thebarge shared pitching duties, combining on a four-hitter and striking out eight batters. Thebarge earned the player of the game award, going 4-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored.

“Chase is a gamer. He will give you everything he has for six innings and is a very fundamentally sound baseball player. I’m glad he’s a Dirigo boy,” joked Palmer, the Dirigo High School coach, who directed the team along with Dan Garbarini and Phil Mills.

Palmer led the Dirigo Cougars to a state championship this spring, and Garbarini was the winning pitcher in the 1992 state championship when Mountain Valley defeated Ellsworth.

Sorensen and Gorham each had three hits on the game and Gorham hit yet another round tripper.

Later that day, WM was looking to get revenge as it was matched up with Sebago. After three innings, WM trailed 9-2, but a pep talk from the coaching staff turned things around.

“I begged all 10 of them to give me every ounce of energy they had left in their bodies for another hour to see if we could mount a comeback,” Palmer said.

The speech worked, as WM batted around the order in each of the last three innings and rallied for the 15-11 victory.

WM exploded for 19 hits, including 14 of them in the last three innings. A leadoff single from Jacob Sinclair got things started in the six-run fourth. Garbarini was awarded player of the game for his performance at the plate, 2-for-2 with two walks and four runs scored.

Garbarini’s patience at the plate was evident during pivotal points in the fifth and sixth innings. Thebarge, Garbarini, Gorham, Laubauskas, Davis, Blanchard, Sinclair and Mills were all repeat hitters.

The win sent WM into the final four of the tournament, where WM faced a tough Mt. Ararat team and lost 15-0.

“I told the boys after the (elimination) game that the majority of these teams in this tournament have been playing together since the snow came off the fields,” Palmer said. “We put this team together a month ago. We had approximately five practices and two scrimmages, so finishing in the final four of the state tourney in first year speaks volumes of the hard work and dedication these boys displayed.”

The highlight of the night was when the head scorekeeper and the protest committee got together and decided to give the player of the game award to the entire WM team for their display of good sportsmanship throughout the entire tournament.

“It was too bad we lost, but to see the entire team go out and get the trophy was priceless,” Palmer said with a smile. “Dan, Phil and I are really looking forward to coaching these boys as 12-year-olds next year.”

The WM team and coaches would like to thank Bob Laubauskas and Rick Blanchard for serving on the protest committee. Also, a very big thank you to Roxanne Gorham for doing a lot of behind the scenes work to get this team eligible for the tournament.