The Maine Association of Baseball and Softball Coaches has revealed its list of seven finalists for the annual “Mr. Baseball” Dr. John Winkin Award, recognizing the top senior baseball player in the state of Maine.
Among the finalists are Old Town catcher Jackson Lizotte, Hampden Academy pitcher Collin Peckham, and Maine Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Caleb Vacchiano of Sacopee Valley (Cornish).
Two-time Maine Gatorade Football Player of the Year and Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Noah Carpenter of Leavitt (Turner), Marky Axelsen of Greely (Cumberland Center), Trent Drouin of Oak Hill (Wales) and Brennan Rumph of Falmouth were also nominated.
The winner of the award will be announced at the Maine senior All-Star Games on Wednesday, June 19 at St. Joseph’s College in Standish, at approximately 6:30 p.m. after the Class A and Class B senior rosters are announced.
“It will be hard to replace Jackson’s presence behind the plate and in the lineup the past three years,” Old Town head coach Justin Crisafulli said. “He puts in the hard work every day, is a great teammate in the clubhouse, and is always working with our younger players and middle schoolers.”
Lizotte batted cleanup for the Coyotes the past three seasons, guiding them to the Class B state title in June 2023. The Penobscot Valley Conference first-teamer batted .295 with a .983 on-base plus slugging percentage this season, including one homer and six doubles.
Lizotte’s throw time to second base was once clocked at an astounding 1.84 seconds — the Major League average is 2.0 seconds — and he caught five players stealing this season.
“He’s just an awesome kid to be around, and a great player to teach and coach,” Crisafulli said. “He will be missed, but he has a tremendous future at Husson. They are getting a good baseball player that loves the game.”
In Peckham’s four-year varsity career at Hampden, the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference first-teamer helped transform the Broncos from a 6-10 team to a 15-1 team, winning Class A North’s No. 1 seed this spring.
Peckham was an equal force on the mound and in the box, batting .467 (1.096 OPS) with five extra-base hits while compiling a 2.06 ERA over 37.1 innings pitched with a 5-1 record.
“Collin always had the team-first mentality. He never once questioned our pitching assignments, took care of his arm and was helpful to our younger players,” Hampden head coach Jon Perry said. “I’m so proud of him — he came through with clutch hits and outstanding pitching performances.”
The Husson University signee averaged the same number of strikeouts per inning pitched this season (one), as he had strikeouts in the batter’s box all year.
“He struck out very few times and always had very good at-bats,” Perry said. “He understood how pitchers were trying to pitch him and adjusted accordingly.”
Previous Mr. Baseball award winners include Jason Libby of Bangor Christian (2023) and Cardinals draft pick Trejyn Fletcher of Deering (2019).
