AUBURN – A few hours Saturday night just might make lasting memories for the Maine Heat baseball team.

The U14 AAU club, made up of mostly Auburn players, will be hosting a Japanese National Team at Auburn Suburban Little League complex at 7 p.m.

“We’re excited for the kids to have this opportunity,” said Rick Lashua, the Maine Heat’s manager. “It’s going to be fun to watch the boys get in the game and compete against kids from another country. We’re trying to tell them that 50 years from now they’ll sit around and will still be talking about when they played that team from Japan. It’s something that will be with them forever.”

The game will feature a barbecue prior to the game and the exchange of items during a pregame ceremony.

“It’s a celebration of the whole season,” said Lashua. “The boys have put in a lot of work all summer. They’ve been dedicated. The families have been terrific in doing whatever needs to be done.”

The Maine Heat had their playoffs in late July and just have this game Saturday to complete their season.

Many of the players have also played on other local teams. Lashua estimates the kids have played around 70 games this summer.

“We’ve spent the last couple of days working on the field a little bit,” said Lashua. “We had some pitchers and catchers throw (Tuesday) and we’ll have a complete practice this week to get used to the new baseball and get ready for the game.”

The game will be played under Japanese rules. That means they’ll use a smaller ball and no metal cleats will be allowed. The game will be at least seven innings. Lashua said if the game goes quickly, they might play nine.

The Japanese team is on a two-week tour of New England and has five games schedule with teams in Maine.

“It’s a good experience to play a team from another country,” said Lashua. “We try with our AAU team to play the best of Maine and New England. That’s a good experience, and this kind of thing caps off the season for them.”

The game in Auburn evolved when Lashua got a call from a fellow coach.

His team from Southern Maine had played in Japan recently. One of his players on that team, Jordan Williams, now plays on the Maine Heat.

Lashua was told that the Japanese squad was looking to schedule games with various teams.

“He wanted to know if we’d be interested in playing them,” said Lashua. “We were able to secure a spot for them. Once one team found out we had hooked up with them, they were able to try to get games also.”

To be on the Japanese squad, players are required to not only have the appropriate athletic skills but also be quality students and ambassadors of their country. There also is a Japanese girls’ basketball team touring New England along with the baseball squad.

“It’s an exhibition game, but the kids want to be competitive and want to do their best,” said Lashua. “They’re going to have fun.”

It’s been an event the players and their families have anxiously awaited all season. It’s a rare opportunity and a special event for the kids and families to share and experience.

“The boys are excited about it,” said Lashua. “They’ve been talking about it. It’s almost like the season started and it’s like Christmas for them. They wanted it to happen. They’ve had it circled on the calendar since we finalized it. They’re all excited about doing it and the families are excited. It’s going to be a fun time.”

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