BY RACHEL LENZI

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Somewhere underneath the right field bleachers at Hadlock Field, Lucien Bastarache finally got the moment he had waited for.

David Ortiz, the big slugger from the Dominican Republic, leaned down and made eye contact with Bastarache, a diminutive kindergartner from Harpswell who bounced with joy in his wheelchair.

Big Papi, meet Little Papi.

Wednesday night, Ortiz came face-to-face with Bastarache, a six-year-old who has cerebral palsy.

They met in one of the last dry confines of Hadlock Field, in a moment that drew flashbulbs and shivers.

"Hey buddy," Ortiz said softly, leaning down to look Lucien in the eye. "What's going on?"

For more than three hours, Bastarache, a six-year old from Haiti, patiently waited simply to step onto the field so that he could perform "Hey, Big Papi," the anthem he and his West Harpswell School classmates penned in honor of Ortiz.

But the few moments between Ortiz and Bastarache capped off a soggy afternoon at the ballpark and Ortiz's three days in Portland as part of a rehabilitation assignment. "That's what I really like, being involved with children," Ortiz said. "The smile on his face, just seeing him and hanging out with him ...

"A guy like me should take advantage of that and put a smile on his face, whenever you can."

Bastarache came to the United States when he was two, after living in two orphanages before he was taken in by his adoptive mother, Lori. In four years in Maine, Bastarache has become a baseball and hockey fan. His love for baseball became a love for the Red Sox - and, as his nickname "Little Papi" harkens, all things David Ortiz.

"His mom said that he just woke up excited," said Sandi Ste. George, Lucien's teacher, who arrived at Hadlock Field with Lucien at 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. "Are you excited?" she asked, snuggling up to Lucien, who waved his arms and gave Ste. George his biggest grin.

Less than 40 minutes before the first pitch in a rain-delayed game, Big Papi met Little Papi.

Geoff Iacuessa, assistant general manager of sales and marketing for the Sea Dogs, pushed Bastarache in his wheelchair across the field and toward a makeshift press area, where Ortiz was about to meet with the media. First, though, Ortiz had a meeting with a VIP - a very important Papi.

Ortiz patted Bastarache's head and grinned. "Are you from Maine?" Bastarache nodded, his smile even bigger. Outside, the rain began to taper off as the stadium's grounds crew tended to the infield. Ortiz needed Bastarache's input on a pressing issue.

"You know anything about the weather?" Ortiz asked Bastarache. "Now should I play, or should I go home? What do I do?"

"Play!" Lucien exclaimed.

Enough said. Ortiz was Portland's designated hitter, and walked in his first at-bat in the first inning, then grounded into an inning-ending double play in the third before he walked off the field, waving to the crowd as flashbulbs went off in the stands.

Ortiz will return to Boston for the start of the Red Sox's three-game series against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. On Saturday, Bastarche and his family will travel to Boston for the Yankees-Red Sox tilt. They have been invited onto the field (onto the warning track) to watch the Red Sox take batting practice.

While Ortiz prepared for his final game with the Sea Dogs, Bastarache joined Ste. George in front of the Sea Dogs dugout to sing their song before the game.

"This is a song you can sing with us," Ste. George told the crowd, warming up her guitar. "All you have to say is 'Hey, Big Papi.' "

When the chorus came, the crowd joined in. Again, Lucien rocked side to side, grinning.

"We didn't think this was going to happen," Lori Bastarache said. "At all."