Opening ceremonies for 15th Bangor World Series set for tonight
Early games on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday pushed back 30 minutes
Opening ceremonies for the 2016 Senior League Baseball World Series will begin at 7:30 p.m. today at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. Admission is free.
The ceremonies will begin with recognition of teams that won Maine District 3 championships in softball and baseball this season, including Lincoln L.L. (9/10 softball and 11/12 softball), Old Town L.L. (9/10 baseball), Bronco L.L. (11 baseball), Houlton L.L. (11/12 baseball), and Bronco-Hermon L.L. (Junior League Baseball).
The 10 World Series teams and 13 umpires will then parade onto the outfield edge of the infield. Anthems will then be played for the United States, Australia, Canada, Spain, and Puerto Rico.
Among this year’s dignitaries will be U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, Maine State Sen. Geoff Gratwick, and Little League International board of directors member Dennis Lewin.
World Series alumnus Jordan Clarke will throw out the first pitch. Clarke played for Bangor East/West L.L., Bangor, in the 2006 World Series. He threw a complete game no-hitter in the series opener, against Canada’s Regina National L.L., Regina, Saskatchewan. That was the first trip to Bangor for Regina. The league is back after winning its third consecutive Canada regional. Clarke’s no-hitter is the only one thrown by a single pitcher since the World Series moved to Bangor in 2002.
Fireworks will culminate the evening’s festivities at approximately 8:45 p.m.
The souvenir stand will open at 9 a.m. Saturday.
On Friday, Mansfield Stadium was relatively quiet as volunteers put the finishing touches on stadium repairs and field work. Teams that arrived early were treated to a cookout.
The games will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, with Europe-Africa’s Cataluņa L.L., Barcelona, Spain, taking on U.S. Central’s Clear Ridge L.L., Chicago. World Series tournament director Mike Brooker announced on Thursday that the early games for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday would be pushed back 30 minutes. Games scheduled for 10 a.m. on those days will begin at 10:30 a.m. Games scheduled for 1 p.m. on those days will begin at 1:30 p.m.