Cape Elizabeth’s quest for a third straight Western Maine Class B softball championship and a second consecutive state title came to a halt thanks to the arm and bat of Fryeburg Academy’s Hannah Hill.

The junior pitcher, recently named Gatorade Player of the Year for softball in Maine, limited the Capers to one hit, struck out 13 and drove in the game’s only run to lift the Raiders to a 1-0 victory in last Wednesday’s Western Maine championship at Ward Field on the St. Joe’s College campus in Standish.

Fryeburg (19-1), the top seed in the West, went on to defeat East champ Medomak Valley 6-2 in Saturday’s state title game. Cape, which defeated Winslow 2-1 in last year’s state final, wrapped up the year at 17-2 with both losses coming by 1-0 scores to Fryeburg.

The Capers battled to the end. Tricia Thibodeau, Cape’s pitcher and No. 3 hitter, led off the seventh inning with a line-drive single to right field to break up Hill’s bid for her fifth no-hitter of the season. She moved to second on Delaney Rockwell’s sacrifice bunt. Lauren Donovan hit a ball down the first base line that was foul by inches before eventually striking out.

“I knew it was foul, but I was just hoping I could hit another one two inches more to the left, because it was one of our last chances to come back,” said Donovan, Cape’s only senior starter.

Hill, who recently gave a verbal commitment to play at Seton Hall after high school, struck out the final batter to end the game.

“She’s tough, she’s focused, she’s a leader,” Fryeburg coach Fred Apt said of Hill, just before he received a Gatorade-bucket dousing from his players. “She comes to play day-in and day-out and expects the same from her teammates. And they do it.”

The game’s lone run game in the third after Thibodeau struck out the first two batters of the inning. Brylie Walker reached on an error and came around to score when Hill drove a 2-0 pitch to straightaway center field. It hit the middle of the fence near the 225-foot marker.

Thibodeau struck out nine and allowed only one other hit, an infield single by Walker that hit Thibodeau on the foot.

“They have an outstanding pitcher and we have an outstanding pitcher as well,” said Cape coach Joe Henrikson. “They got two hits, we got one.”

Hill’s velocity and movement kept the Capers off balance throughout the game, even as they choked up on the bat handle and shortened their swings.

“She’s throws really fast and she has a great rise ball,” Donovan said. “That, I think, is the biggest problem for us, being able to judge how high it’s actually going to be, and it comes in really fast. You’ve got to have quick reflexes.”

With nearly the entire team back next year, the experience of playing for a championship and facing Hill twice should help the Capers again be in the hunt for a title next season. A “green” team when the season began, according to Henrikson, the Capers made great strides to return to the regional finals.

“They came a real long way,” Henrikson said. “I’m very proud of them. We had two starting freshman, three starting sophomores and three starting juniors. One starting senior. That’s pretty young. They battled like champions.”

The Capers graduated six starters from last year’s team leaving Donovan unsure of how her senior campaign would turn out when spring practice began.

“I had my doubts at the beginning of the season, but we really came a long way,” she said.

“We played our hearts out,” Donovan added. “That’s what we’ve done every game. We’re 17-2. It’s my last game ever, but I’m not going to be down about it. I’m really proud of my team.”

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