STANDISH — Jordan Agger said she felt “everyone kind of doubted Wells” because it was playing unbeaten Cape Elizabeth in the Western Class B softball final Wednesday.
One thing is sure after Wells’ 8-3 victory at St. Joseph’s College: No one is doubting Agger’s ability to hit the long ball.
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Agger belted three home runs – each farther than the last – as the Warriors captured the regional championship for the first time.
Agger’s seventh-inning two-run blast cleared the scoreboard, giving her six RBI in the game and eight home runs for the season.
Agger had hit four out in batting practice while standing at least 20 feet behind the plate.
“I was so ready. I was very ready,” Agger said. “I was kind of eager to get on this field. I had never played here before. I knew the fence was two feet higher and farther back, but the second I started (batting practice) I was like, ‘Wow, it’s not that hard.’ It is hard, but I’m glad that I did it.”
Wells will play in the state championship game Saturday against Hermon, which defeated previously unbeaten Gardiner 6-1 in the Eastern Maine final. Wells and Hermon will meet at Brewer High.
“That girl can hit it. She brings the thunder and I’m glad (Agger) is on my team,” Wells Coach Kevin Fox said. “I don’t know if she’ll see too many pitches Saturday, though I think they tried to pitch around her a couple times today and she still got after them.”
Cape Coach Joe Henrikson said it was his intent to pitch around Agger.
“I told them not to pitch to the kid,” Henrikson said. “The first one was way up high, and the second and third time I told them to walk her.”
Agger’s solo homer in the third gave the third-seeded Warriors (16-3) a 3-2 lead. After top-ranked Cape Elizabeth (18-1) tied it with a run in the fourth, Agger’s two-run blast into a beach volleyball court beyond the left-field fence capped a three-run inning.
Wells pitcher Lauren Bame chased Cape starter Katie Rabasca with an RBI double prior to Agger’s second homer, which came off reliever Anna Goldstein.
Agger finished 4 for 4 and also scored in the first after an RBI single, giving Wells a 2-0 lead.
Agger also excelled at third base, particularly when she threw Elise Flathers out at home after a Bame pitch caromed off catcher Meghan Young’s shin guards and tracked quickly up the line.
Flathers collided hard with Young.
“I just knew I needed to hold onto that ball and get her out,” Young said. “We couldn’t let them score another run. The momentum would have changed.”
The trouble started when Bame walked two batters. After falling behind 2-0 on Rabasca, she and Young had a mound conference.
“Once I walked the first two I started to get really nervous and frustrated,” Bame said. “Meghan told me to take a couple breaths, and that’s what I did.”
Bame (five strikeouts, four walks) set Cape down in order in the sixth and seventh. She held hard-hitting Cape sluggers Ashley Tinsman (0 for 4) and Tess Haller (1 for 4) in check and stranded four runners in scoring position.
“We didn’t hit like we normally hit and that’s the bottom line,” Henrikson said. “You’ve got to take your hat off to Wells. They played a (great) game. That was a great team over there. Kevin’s an awesome coach and obviously their third baseman had a day. She had a day.”
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