Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD - The Shepherd Hill Rams were on their way to what looked like an easy win until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Oxford Pirates scored six runs in a rally that fell short when they left the bases loaded.

Rams righty Cam Scotia came in relief and struck out Liam Pickett, leaving the tying and winning runs on base and in scoring position in what would have seemed like an improbable comeback against the 11-2 Rams.

by Steev Riccardo

AUBURN – The Oxford Pirates may not have the numbers on their track team but they constantly prove that quality is more important than quantity and that was the case once again this past week.

In a huge outdoor meet with SWCL powers Auburn and Northbridge, the Pirates looked solid and were competitive across the board.

Senior star Emily Dawidczyk looked very sharp, winning the long jump, the 200-meter dash, and the 110-meter hurdles even though she is still not quite 100%

WEBSTER – Indian Ranch will soon be the new home of the Indian Princess, an authentic paddle boat which local businessman Christopher Robert has operated in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, for the past year.

The Indian Princess had its final sunset cruise on the Gulf of Mexico on April 18, and started its journey north to Webster Lake on the 28th. The boat’s top speed is six knots, so it will take a month for it to travel from Fort Myers Beach through the Caloosahatchee River, across Lake Okechobee, to the Atlantic Ocean and on to Norwich, Connecticut. From there the boat will hauled over land on Rt. 395 to Webster.

This Letter from the Editor will be harder to write than any I've written in the last two years. I want our readers to know that we are as sad and disappointed as they are: The Patriot newspaper will be closing with a final issue next week. 

The Patriot newspaper was bought by a new owner on April 1 of 2011 to keep the weekly community newspaper alive—even though it had fallen on hard times financially. The Patriot competed with the Webster Times, which, once a subscription-based publication like The Patriot, switched some years ago to a requester model, distributing it free to anyone on request.

The Patriot kept the subscription model, allowing publishing to continue. However, it was now competing with “free,” and that is hard to do in a world in which many newspapers are struggling for survival. In addition, The Patriot had some issues with content published by the previous owner which contributed to the near-demise of the paper at that time as well.

Advertisers chose the Webster Times, with its larger circulation in Webster, Dudley, and Oxford and its much greater regional clout.

Two years ago, when I joined the paper, we began work on a new Patriot, one that would focus on the hard news of town boards and meetings, as well as news of the schools, society, sports, and the myriad of events the three towns hold every year. To do this right, we had to hire people, reporters and photographers to cover the meetings and events. We also built a website so that we could post stories as they happened, and hundreds of you checked it out every day.

Gradually, we started hearing from readers and residents that The Patriot had again become a newspaper that they looked forward to reading every week and that we were doing a great job of covering the towns’ news. We were proud of our work and expected the subscription numbers to increase and the advertising to follow.  But, it didn’t.  And so it has become economically unfeasible for us to continue.

There have been other factors at work too. The economy has been in a recession. Many advertisers have switched to other forms of communication with their customers: online display ads, websites, social media, emails, “groupons.” There is also the general trend that more and more readers are going online for their news.

We will publish the last issue of The Patriot next week, May 8, 2013. We will talk with you more then about all the people who made The Patriot a credible newspaper the last two years.

We believe that there can be synergy between a print publication and its online version. We plan to explore that possibility with our sister publication, the Yankee Shopper, which we will continue to publish.

Barbara Van Reed

Note to subscribers: we will begin issuing refunds after May 8. Please send us a message to let us know if you would like to have a refund, or if you would like us to donate the remainder of your subscription to the Hubbard Emergency Room fund, where it will be matched by an anonymous donor.

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – Story lines were interesting at the SWCL track meet between Oxford, Shepherd Hill, and Quaboag this past Wednesday (April 24) at Oxford high school.

Oxford senior star Emily Dawidczyk, who despite nursing injuries all spring, won the 200-meter dash and the long jump, but did not compete in the hurdles, which is arguably her best event.  She also came in second in the shot put, finishing behind Shepherd Hill’s Katie McCambridge, who is one of the best in Central Mass.

Beat Southbridge 14-0

Text and photos by Steev Riccardo

DUDLEY – It’s obvious that the Shepherd Hill Rams have plenty of power but it’s their outstanding pitching and fielding that has been their ticket so far.

The Rams got great back-to-back outings from seniors Adam Darling and Drew Ravenelle to first bury Southbridge 14-0 on Wednesday (April 23) and then edge a very good 9-2 Auburn team, 4-2, on Friday (April 25).  The shutout win was their third of the season, which is exceptional for high school baseball.

MORE PHOTOS FOLLOW

by Steev Riccardo

OXFORD – The Oxford Lady Pirates had a huge week in girls softball winning three of four games against key SWCL opponents.

The Pirates defeated Millbury 4-3, Uxbridge 16-4, and Southbridge 10-3 with their only loss coming at the hands of the Tantasqua Warriors, 12-8.

Junior Jamie Brodeur hit a walk-off sacrifice in the bottom of the seventh and sophomore hurler Evelyn “The Dynasty” Marquis pitched a nifty six-hitter and scored the winning run as the Pirates squeaked by the Woolies 4-3 in a real barnburner on Monday (April 22).

Lose to Quaboag, rebound vs. Prouty

WEBSTER – Junior right-hander Justin Caro pitched an outstanding two hitter while leading the Bartlett Indians to a 7-2 win over archrival Southbridge on Monday (April 22).

Caro had a no hitter entering the seventh inning and gave up a pair of hits with one out but retired the final two batters of the game for the win.

Sophomore Ryan Sullivan and senior Billy Phillips supplied the key offense for the Indians.

DUDLEY - The Dudley Patrolmen’s Association annual fund raiser began on Monday, April 15^th.  Phone calls for donations will be placed to local residents and businesses.  The proceeds of this campaign benefit local police programs and other community based initiatives, including scholarships. The officers wish to thank the community in advance for their continued support and generosity.  Contributors will receive complimentary tickets to the annual soft ball game versus the New England Patriots which is to be held in early June.  Should anyone have any questions about this or other fundraisers, we encourage you to contact the Dudley Police at 508-943-4411 before making any donations.