GORHAM — Southern Maine has produced some of the state’s best high school softball players in recent years, with many of their teams taking home state titles in the process.

The University of Southern Maine has taken notice, and has put together a strong roster comprised of many athletes from the area at all different classes.

All four USM captains hail from southern Maine. Those captains include Taylor Lux and Brooke Cross of Thornton Academy, Brittany Plowman of Scarborough, and Amber Kelly of Noble.

Other members of the Huskies include Biddeford native Erin Martin, and freshman Sarah Howe who played for Massabesic.

“We try to attract the best athletes and there are a lot of great athletes in the (Southwestern Maine Activities Association) and in those schools, Biddeford, Thornton Academy, Noble … we have a lot of those kids that compete at a really high level,” said USM coach Sarah Jamo.

Lux has enjoyed a strong start to her senior season, and feels that the familiarity that goes along with the area has helped the team progress quickly.

“It’s awesome because we’re all from the same area and already know each other. I think this year specifically we’re gelling really well, things are going great. It’s all been about what your role is on the team and everyone has adapted really well,” said Lux.

Lux also enjoys getting a chance to compete alongside her former rivals from her high school days.

“In years past we’ve had a lot of kids from different places. Like California, Florida but now most of these kids are from southern Maine and our coaches do a great job of recruiting them. It’s cool because we played against each other when we were on different (high school) teams so it’s cool to see girls like Amber Kelly and Erin Martin who were our big rivals, and now we’re playing together,” said Lux.

Martin is currently in her sophomore campaign for the Huskies. The former Biddeford standout felt that getting used to college ball last spring was made easier by having so many familiar faces in the dugout.

“It’s great to be able to represent southern Maine and play close to home. A lot of these girls, a lot of us played each other in high school so it’s fun to finally be on the same team and represent USM,” said Martin. “It made it a really easy transition since I knew so many girls from high school. It was an easy transition and everyone was great about it.”

Jamo has been impressed by the talent that has come from southern Maine, and has relied heavily on it early this season.

“They’re definitely team-first kids which is something we try to breed as a culture. They buy right in and it’s a fun team to coach. (The impact has been) huge. Erin Martin has stepped up, Brittany Plowman from Scarborough, Amber Kelly from Noble, Taylor Lux and Brooke Cross from Thornton Academy. Those are five impact players for us all over the place,” said Jamo. “Our team is very athletic — most of our kids played two or three sports in high school which is something that is pretty rare these days so they know to compete, work really hard, and they’re super athletic.”

Martin believes that the quality of softball in Maine is continuing to improve, and will only help USM remain a strong program down the road.

“It’s on the rise and so is USM,” said Martin. “USM has been attracting a lot of people and a lot of local girls want to play locally and go to a state school, it’s been awesome.”

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.