The Portland Little League All Stars are one win away from a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
If the team wins their game on Thursday night, they will be the fifth in Maine history to qualify for the Little League World Series. Most recently, Gray-New Gloucester went in 2023 and Westbrook in 2005.
The team is made up of 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds and has played together and seen success for years, their coach Brian Bechard says.
Bechard, whose day job is as a video producer with Maine Public, says that pitcher David Rank “has been an ace” for the team, but says one of their biggest strengths “is that we’ve got six pitchers, which in Little League with pitch counts and mandatory rest days is extremely helpful.”
Additionally, Bechard says that the team hasn’t lost a single game this summer. With the way Little League tournaments are structured, as double elimination, the team is often afforded long stretches of rest days between games.
As the team has gotten closer to Williamsport, Bechard says the coaches have begun channeling their "inner Bill Belichick" to keep the players grounded.
“We kind of use a Bill Belichick philosophy of one play at a time, one game at a time, you know, next man up type of thing, as far as positions and injuries," he says. "That helps younger kids focus on things a little easier, as opposed to, 'Hey, we've got this huge goal at the end of the season we want to get to.'”
Bechard says that the team is extremely grateful for businesses from around Portland who have helped fund the team's travel expenses, as well as for the army of volunteers in Bristol, Connecticut, who have supported the team throughout their stay.
Portland Little League faces Salem, New Hampshire, at 7 p.m. Thursday for the New England Championship.
There will be watch parties for the team across Portland, including one at the team's home field, Loring Field in Payson Park.