Picard’s Grand Slam & 6 RBI Leads Caribou Past Fort Kent; Recap

Vikings and Warriors play under the sun in Fort Kent 

The Caribou Vikings baseball team is very young this year with multiple freshmen and sophomores starting for Coach Josh Dillon's team. On Thursday the Vikings traveled to take on a Fort Kent Warriors team looking for more heal points to climb in the Class C North standings.

Experience vs. Youth 

Fort Kent began the day with a record of 4-1 and beginning a stretch that will see them play 4 games in 6 days. The Warriors are coming off of an 18-0 victory over Central Aroostook on Monday. Caribou began the day 1-7 and looking to pick up a win and more experience as they navigate a difficult Class B schedule.

McNeal spins a gem for 6 plus innings 

Griffin McNeal took the mound for Caribou and held the Warriors scoreless through the first two innings of play. He would be given a two-run lead to work with when the Vikings scored on consecutive errors in the second inning.

Picard Power 

The big blow of the day was delivered in the top of the third inning when Caribou's Jaden Picard smacked a grand slam over the left field to put the Vikings in front by a score of 6-0. McNeal held the Warriors scoreless into the fifth inning when Fort Kent would plate three runs, highlighted by a Will Roy RBI single to bring the score to 6-3.

Fort Kent rallies; Getting tying runs into scoring position 

Caribou responded quickly to the Fort Kent rally in the top of the sixth inning when Picard lined a two-run double to left field, giving Caribou an 8-3 lead. McNeal took the mound in the seventh inning to try to complete the game, but was unable to when he ran into some trouble with runners reaching base. Brayden Brescia came in to relieve McNeal who pitched 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 5 batters. Fort Kent's Kayden Theriackt singled in a run to cut the lead to 8-4. Ethan Raymond then drove a two-run double to left field, bringing the score to 8-6 with the tying run at second base. Brescia would get out of the jam on back-to-back ground outs to end the game and give Caribou an 8-6 victory. Jaden Picard finished the game going 2-3 with 6 runs batted in.

On Deck: 

Caribou is now 2-6 and will host a Saturday double-header against the Hermon Hawks. Fort Kent falls to 4-2 and will play Madawaska on Saturday, and Fort Fairfield on Monday.