SCARBOROUGH – Scarborough Coach Tom Griffin had two pitchers warming up before Saturday’s regional softball semifinal with Kennebunk.

Should he start ace Mo Hannan or sophomore lefty Alyssa Williamson?

Decisions, decisions.

Griffin chose Hannan, who was making her first start since a bout with mononucleosis.

Hannan wasn’t her typical dominating self, but she didn’t have to be as her teammates provided the offense and Kennebunk’s defense crumbled under playoff pressure, enabling the defending Class A state champion Red Storm to breeze to a 12-0 win that ended in the sixth inning because of the 12-run mercy rule.

Top-ranked Scarborough (18-0) scored its 11th and 12th runs in the sixth inning. Hannan’s sharp single into the left-center gap ended it.

“I was wondering why everyone was walking off the field,” said Hannan. “I didn’t know my hit ended it. That was nice.”

Kennebunk (12-6), the fifth seed, made nine errors. Hannan gave up five hits and struck out six.

Hannan missed five games because of mononucleosis. She has built back her stamina and said she felt fine.

“Missing five games was tough,” she said. “It’s nice to have a playoff start. It was nice to get an early lead. It took the pressure off me. The defense and hitting were there.”

Griffin said he could have started Williamson and pitched her three or four innings and then brought in Hannan to finish.

He chose the opposite. Hannan got the start and Williamson relieved. Williamson pitched the top of the sixth.

“Coach wanted Alyssa to get some work for the next game,” said Hannan. “I don’t know who will pitch Tuesday. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Scarborough will play South Portland for its second straight Western Class A title at 3 p.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph’s College.

“Mo was solid, but I don’t think it was her best game,” said Griffin. “I wasn’t sure if she would be ready, but we’ve been trying to build her strength by having her pitch in scrimmage games in practice. Mo knows how to win and compete. We have quality pitching.”

The Red Storm scored four runs in the first and three in the second.

Williamson drove in the first run with a hit. The second scored on a throwing error. Grace Farnhoff drove in two more with single to right.

Williamson had another RBI single in the second. Megan Murrell had a single to right for another run. The Rams committed three errors in the inning.

Williamson had her third RBI with a single in the fifth as the Red Storm took a 10-0 lead.

In the previous game, Williamson had struggled at the plate.

“Alyssa has been frustrated at the plate,” said Griffin. “We had a talk and she was able to let it go. She’s such a good hitter.”

Griffin said his team’s strategy on offense is to put the ball in play and apply pressure to the defense.

“Kennebunk is better than what they showed,” he said. “We worked hard to get the No. 1 seed so we could have this game at our place. We didn’t want to have to go through both South Portland and Thornton Academy to get to the state championship. They’re both very good teams. We’re playing good defense, getting strong pitching and timely hitting.”

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH