First-year Wiscasset High School softball coach Gordon Campbell admits that his Wolverines are likely to take a few contests on the chin this season against tough Mountain Valley Conference opponents. But, that doesn’t mean that his Wolverines didn’t work hard in preparing for their home opener on Friday when rival Boothbay came to town.
The Wolverines will take a 1-0 record into today’s contest at Lisbon, where the competition will likely ramp up a bit this upcoming week.
“The numbers are down across the league in softball, and a win can make a big difference on keeping kids in the system, so today is huge,” said Campbell, who won his varsity coaching debut. “I have coached these girls coming up through the middle school ranks, so this means a lot to me. I have a daughter on the team (catcher Corey) and a daughter assisting me (Hannah). It certainly means something to me.”
This one came down to the pitching, as Boothbay’s Jo Shaw and Wiscasset sophomore August Moore hooked up. Moore, making her first varsity start, was solid, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out an impressive nine Seahawks.
“She got the game ball today, and she gave us more than I expected,” said Campbell of Moore.
“Last year, we wanted to see August put in, knowing that she can pitch, and this year it is all on her because she is our only pitcher with experience,” said Wiscasset shortstop Lindsey Gordon, who was 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and provided solid defense behind Moore, including an over the shoulder catch in the sixth inning. “She throws strike after strike after strike, and today she had it all working.
“I really just focused on me and the catcher and just throwing it and hopefully getting some strikeouts,” said Moore. “The team played really well behind me, Lindsey at shortstop and Sydnie (Thayer) catching a foul ball. It was impressive to see.”
Breaking the tie
Wiscasset was able to get on the board first. Clara Mugnai fouled off seven straight pitches before beating a slow roller to third base for an infield single. A throwing error allowed her to move up a base. With two outs, Leah Potter reached on an error, with Mugnai scoring without a throw.
Boothbay tied the game in the third. Cheyanne Rodgers struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch. The first hit for the Seahawks came from Saida Riddel, moving Rodgers to third. A wild pitch brought Rodgers to the plate.
Despite threatening over the next two innings (four runners left on base), Moore and her defense kept Boothbay off the board the rest of the way, with Moore retiring the final seven batters she faced.
“We had a doubleheader in Waterville a couple weeks ago and we had a lot of errors, so we focused a lot after that on defense,” said Coach Campbell. “I was very pleased with the way we played today.”
The Wolverines went ahead to stay in the home half of the third inning. Stephanie Jones reached on an error, one of six on the day for the Seahawks, and stole second. Grace Webber hustled to first for an infield single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Gordon singled to left for a 2-1 Wiscasset lead, and Moore’s groundball allowed Webber to trot home for a 3-1 Wolverines lead.
“As a team we knew that we had to step up our game,” said Gordon, who was 1-for-3 with an RBI. “We are here to play and we are going to do our best.”
Wiscasset finished off the scoring with two more runs in the fifth. Again Jones reached on an error and stole a base to get into scoring position, and moved to third when the throw to second skipped into the outfield. Webber grounded out, but picked up the RBI as Jones scored her second run.
Despite the loss, Shaw pitched well for Boothbay. She went the distance, allowing five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Of the five Wiscasset runs, only one was earned.
After facing Lisbon today, Wiscasset hosts Oak Hill on Wednesday and St. Dom’s on Friday.
Wiscasset 5,
Boothbay 1
At Wiscasset
Boothbay — 001 000 0 — 0-2-6
Wiscasset — 012 020 X — 5-5-3
Jo Shaw and Cheyanne Rodgers;
August Moore and Corey Campbell.
Records — Wiscasset 1-0, Boothbay
0-1.
Up next for the Wolverines — Today
at Lisbon, 4 p.m.
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