Caleb Vacchiano of Sacopee Valley (Cornish) and Brooke Gerry of Windham have been named Mr. Maine Baseball and Miss Maine Softball for the 2024 season.
Awarded by the Maine Association of Baseball and Softball Coaches at the Senior All-Star Games in Standish, Vacchiano and Gerry were recognized as the most impactful players in the class of 2024.
Both Vacchiano (shortstop, pitcher) and Gerry (pitcher, first baseman) dominated on both sides of the ball the past four years, finishing their high school careers with one state championship and one Maine Gatorade award apiece.
Vacchiano is committed to playing at UMaine next year, and hit the go-ahead RBI single in the Class C state championship game against Bucksport at Mahaney Diamond in Orono last Saturday.
The 5-foot-11 slugger batted .476 with four home runs and 16 RBI through 15 games this season, compiling an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.518. On the mound, he had a 1.31 ERA and 35 strikeouts with just five walks in 26.2 innings pitched.
Vacchiano was intentionally walked two times per game this year, after batting .635 with nine home runs in 2023.
“Caleb is the best hitter and most dedicated high school baseball player that I’ve seen with my own eyes. He is such a humble kid — so humble that I don’t think he realizes how good he actually is,” Sacopee Valley head coach Jamie Stacey said.
“He has a high baseball IQ. He understands when he’s not doing something right and he knows exactly how to fix it. It’s hard saying goodbye to someone like him, not because of the baseball player but because of the person that is Caleb Vacchiano.”
Similar to Vacchiano, Gerry is off to play college ball at the Division I level at the University of Rhode Island. She served as Windham’s go-to ace and leadoff hitter, guiding the Eagles to the Class A state title in 2023.
From the pitching circle, Gerry finished the 2024 season with 140 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. The 5-foot-6 lefty conceded just three earned runs all year, and tallied nine wins.
In the batter’s box, Gerry hit .508 with 15 walks and 22 RBI. She stole 20 bases and scored 35 runs.
“Brooke is a two-time captain for our squad. Coaches may say that they have kids who are hard workers but truly no one out works Brooke,” Windham head coach Darcey Gardiner said.
“She is always in the gym working on getting stronger, or in a pitching circle working on her craft. Although it shouldn’t be a surprise because of her hitting numbers — but for someone who puts so much time into pitching — she puts an equal amount of time into hitting and is always striving to obtain her goals.”
