Windham's David Field to serve as umpire for Eastern Regional Softball Tournament

By Matt Pascarella

Umpire and Windham resident David Field is about to enter his 24th year as a Little League volunteer and first got involved as a coach when his children were in T-ball. Through the years, he moved through the coaching progressions in Little League Majors softball and on Feb. 23, Field was chosen from over 250 applicants to umpire at the Eastern Region Little League Softball Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut from July 23rd to 28th. The game will be televised on ESPN+.

David Field of Windham was recently selected to umpire at
the Eastern Regional Little League Softball Tournament in
Bristol, Connecticut from July 23 to July 28. The games
will also be televised on ESPN+.
PHOTO BY CLIFF KNIGHT

“[Umpiring] is a fun and rewarding experience,” said Field. “Since I began as a coach, I can easily put myself in the coaches’ position. When I make a call, I will sometimes take the extra moment to explain my call to the player and/or coach. The whole experience is to teach kids and coaches and to make it a fun time. Kids beat themselves up enough when they miss a play. I try and take that moment to let them know how to fix the mistake.”

According to Field, there is no better feeling than walking onto a field and have players start whispering “It’s Mr. Field, he is my favorite umpire.”

Field had the privilege to umpire in the District 6 baseball and softball tournaments last year. He’s volunteered for the 11-12-year-old State of Maine Little League Baseball Tournament in Waldoboro and the 9-10-year-old Little League Softball Tournament in Westbrook.

The District 6 administrator, Bill Finley had encouraged Field to put in for the Eastern Region Tournaments in Bristol, Connecticut.

Finley said Field is outstanding as an umpire and is someone who goes above and beyond, working four to five nights a week. Field makes Finley’s job easy. Field helps Finley organize the tournaments on the computer and will umpire just about anywhere he is asked to go. Field is very deliberate with a great strike zone and calm demeanor.

Another aspect that has kept Field coming back year after year are the individuals with whom he works. Field said being an umpire is part of a brotherhood. Communication is key and you need to have each other’s backs on the field. Little League umpires are not paid but get a fair share of hot dogs and hamburgers.

“David is a very experienced umpire of many years,” said fellow umpire Stephen Schwartz. “He knows the rules well and he has a great ability to think on his feet. Dave will not only bring his considerable experience and expertise to the umpires at the tournament, but he is also very personable and really a delightful umpire to have as a partner in a game.”

According to Field, one of the toughest challenges is during the regular season where umpires might do a lot of games by themselves. When it comes to tournament work, umpires may not be used to three or four individuals and the mechanics that entails on the field. The process of working with other umpires can be a big adjustment.

Standish’s Shawn Falkner will also umpire during the Eastern Region Little League Softball Tournament. Field said it will be fun to work with him as well as having exposure to other umpires from the northeast. Depending on how this goes, Field would even consider a Little League World Series Tournament.

“As a coach, I have worked eleven years with Dave Field on both the baseball and softball sides of Windham Little League,” said former Windham Little League coach Stephen Napolitano. “Dave understands age-appropriate situations, and he has never wavered teaching youth players the proper rules and guidelines of the game. Dave brings integrity and incredible experience to represent our Windham community so well in Bristol, Connecticut.”

Field has also worked on the Windham Little League Board of Directors and knows what it takes to run a Little League organization. He said it isn’t easy and anyone who steps forth isn’t given enough credit.

“Hats off to Windham Little League for the work you have done and will continue to do. It is fun, tiring, but totally rewarding,” said Field.

Finley said Field will make the state and district very proud during the Eastern Regional Tournament. <

A local tale of a Maine moose hunt

By David Field

Being drawn for the moose hunt is like winning the lottery to those chosen. After being drawn this past June for the second season moose hunt for Zone 11, the planning began. First, I called a butcher to reserve my spot. This is a necessary action as a lot of butchers only take so many animals in a season.

Secondly, I got my team assembled. We have a group of guys that has the moose hunting challenge down to a T, no matter who holds the permit. So, besides me, I had my long-time friend and moose magnet, Cliff Knight as my sub-permittee, Ron Richards of Windham and Todd Hunter of Raymond. The four of us previously did a moose hunt in 2017 and brought home a 675-pound bull on Ron Richards’ permit.

Thirdly, the scouting began. I follow Maine Moose Hunting on Facebook and it amazes me at the number of hunters asking for moose locations before and during the hunt. Accommodations weren’t an issue as we have a hunting camp in the zone.

Cliff and I went to camp in June and deployed a handful of game cameras. We made trips north every few weeks during the summer to collect photos, assess activity and develop our plans.

We went up to the camp the last weekend in September to assess rutting activity and signs and to hopefully nab a grouse or 2. We didn’t nab grouse, but we did learn some things. In the area of the camp, we encountered 5 moose hunters looking to fill their tags. In the first season for Zone 11, only 11 out of 25 tags were filled. I attribute this to a handful of reasons. 1) The rut hadn’t really started, 2) plenty of food in the woods (is your yard filled with acorns?) 3) hunters were driving the roads hoping to fill their tag and not actually hunting the woods.

So, with the second weekend of October upon me, I begin packing. The trailer gets loaded with a 300-foot spool of rope, the 4-wheeler, propane tank, water, coolers full of food and of course, clothing and guns. At camp, we use an old Sears John-Boat to haul moose out of the woods. Very effective tool.

We get to camp and check the cameras for the almost final time. The camera located in the spot we call Moose Alley has 3 different bulls on it. Another camera has 2 bulls on it and a third has a cow. Another location has a moose wallow and becomes our Number 2 spot. Moose Alley is number one. 

Sunday afternoon to sunset, we go and check a few spots out. We had a cow moose come out at Moose Alley after sunset. I was so pumped for the 12 hours to pass!

The author, David Field and Cliff Knight with
the 680 pound bull.

Sunrise Monday morning finds us at Moose Alley. 33 degrees. We hear a bull grunt in the distance and the excitement jacks up a notch. We enter the woods and begin calling. We get a response, but from a different direction. The bull answers the call, but doesn’t come in. We stay in place until late morning. Frustrated, we head to camp for lunch. We try our second spot after lunch. Bright sunshine a stiff south breeze and 64 degrees are the conditions. We are set up at a T location of logging roads. I was on the south side of the truck when a bull appeared on the north side 20 minutes after arriving. I didn’t have a shot and the bull took off. We pursued but he escaped deep into the woods. We went to another spot and did some calling and then went back to Moose Alley to finish the afternoon. A day in the books and we were facing an incoming weather system on Thursday that we didn’t want to hunt in.

Tuesday morning, we went back to the spot that we were at Monday afternoon. We parked away from the area where the bull appeared. Again, walking in, we heard a bull grunt off in the distance. We set up and began calling. After a few hours, we explored. We walked down a logging trail that became a wide-open field. The beaten down path through the field showed the animals had been there. After exploring, I got a text from Todd to “Get Back ASAP”.  Ron and Todd had stayed back while Cliff and I explored the field. When I got the text, we got back and the guys told us that they heard a bull grunt 4 times off to the southwest. We worked our way back up the trail. About two-thirds of the way back, Ron made a grunt on the can call. There was a response that seemed to come from the road we had started on, very close. I worked up to the road and peeked up and down. Empty. A few more calls and the bull had gone silent. With the late morning approaching lunch, we headed back to camp to reassess.

So, Cliff and I decided to go back in the early afternoon and Ron and Todd would drive and scout with the rendezvous to be around 4pm at Moose Alley. We stuck to the plan. No action at the first stop, then back to Moose Alley. We set up in our parking spot. I had a feeling that the moose would be out and about this area as opposed to deeper in the woods where we had been on Monday.

So, Todd and Ron took turns with cow calls and bull calls. Every 10-15 minutes, a new chorus and answers would occur. Forty minutes later, about 300 yards away, the young cow we saw Sunday night emerges from the woods. She is followed by the crotch-horn we had on camera from the previous week. In a bolt, we jog/creep down the road doing our best to stay out of sight. We get to 75 yards from the animals and the cow takes off. The small bull seems oblivious and slowly meanders to the cutting on our left. Sighted in on him, there is movement to the right. A much larger bull appears and the focus changes. One shot and the bull dropped just feet from the logging road. A final shot finishes him off.

With the easy part of the hunt done, the work begins. Ron goes to camp to get the trailer, tow strap and beverages. I have my gutting kit with me and change clothes and ready the knives. I use a forked branch to hold the rear leg out of the way and we tie off the front leg to Cliff’s truck. Todd watches me in amazement as I eviscerate the beast. He quickly nicknamed me the “Ginsu-Man”. As I am finishing the gutting, Ron returns with the trailer and goodies. We quickly fashion a drag to pull the moose up into the trailer. It took us 2 hours from time of shot to driving off with the bull to get this done.

So, the final weight was 680 pounds. I netted just over 300 pounds of meat. The final harvest for Zone 11 was 32 moose out of 50 permits issued.

Many thanks to my friends on this trip. Couldn’t have done it without them and the memories! Until next time.

Windham native Cody Dube drafted by Baltimore Orioles - By David Field

Windham High School 2012 graduate Cody Dube was drafted #301 by Baltimore Orioles last week. Dube just graduated from Keene State College (D3) with a Bachelor’s of Science in safety and occupational health with a 3.28 GPA. 
 

For Keene, Dube earned several awards: Little East Conference First Team, Little East Pitcher of the Year, All Region First Team for New England, All American Third Team, Strength and Conditioning All American, New England Senior All Star. During his senior year he had an ERA of 1.2, with a career at Keene of 2.68.

Dube has always wanted to play professional baseball. He has wanted to go to the next level after stepping up. In 2015, Dube played for Sanford Mainers which is part of the NECBL. In the first month of the season, Dube was seen by several scouts. His success earned him a spot on the NECBL All-Star team and the pro scouts also saw his performance there. 

Dube received an email from Atlanta Braves and did a workout/showcase in the fall of 2015. He then started getting emails from other teams and was asked to complete questionnaires. In total, Dube heard from 25 teams. Although he was excited, Dube took things one step at a time and that meant finishing college at Keene State.

In the last few weeks, Dube received several calls from scouts inquiring about his interest in the Major League draft. He also did three workouts before the draft for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Orioles first saw Cody play in his first game for Keene State in March while the team was in Florida.

Cody left for Maryland this past Monday. He will be subjected to a team physical exam and then expects to be playing for the Single A Aberdeen Ironbirds. Cody’s opportunity to hit the big fields will occur during spring training 2017. 

Some other interesting facts about Cody Dube:

Best baseball memory: Senior year of high school a 12-4 loss to Scarborough in semi-finals and a great group of kids to play with.

Piece of advice to kids that want to play pro: Work hard and take each step one at a time. Never take anything for granted. Keep the goals small and achievable and success will come.

Growing up favorite professional baseball team? Red Sox. He may have to change his alliances later on, but feels that you don’t lose who your favorite childhood team was.

Cody’s parents, Randy and Andrea are obviously excited and taking a page from Cody’s book, taking each day one at a time. 

“It’s been a whirlwind since last week,” said Randy.