STANDISH — Midway through the regular season, with Greely High’s softball team mired in a five-game losing streak, the postseason outlook didn’t look promising.

Much has changed since then.

Kelsey Currier pitched a one-hitter and struck out nine as sixth-seeded Greely defeated fourth-seeded Morse 1-0 in the Class B South softball championship game Wednesday afternoon at St. Joseph’s College’s Bailey Field.

Currier, a senior, allowed only two base runners – a walk in the first and a single to Abby Carpenter leading off the fifth – and punctuated the title by getting the final three outs on three pitches. She handled a comebacker for the final out, throwing to first baseman Audrey Boyle to start a loud celebration along the first-base line.

“It’s amazing,” said Currier, who will attend Thomas College. “I’ve won (state championships) in soccer and basketball. To get there as a senior is really special.”

The Rangers (13-7) have won eight in a row and will face unbeaten Brewer in the Class B state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Brewer High. It will be the Rangers’ third appearance in a state title game, and the first since 2013.

“This is very special,” said Greely Coach Rob Hale. “This is not a team of softball players. I’ve got two who play year-round. The rest are athletes trying to become softball players. They work hard to get better.”

Morse (14-5), playing in its first regional final, had a 10-game winning streak snapped.

Currier outdueled Morse sophomore Dory Kulis, who allowed six hits and struck out seven.

The Rangers got the only run in the third inning on a couple bloop hits. Mollie Obar led off with a high pop that landed about 15 feet beyond the infield in right field, between two Morse fielders, and then rolled away. Obar, a freshman who joined the team about four weeks ago when injuries thinned the roster, ended up on third with a triple.

No. 9 hitter Delia Knox followed with a bloop hit down the left-field line, and Obar scored to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

“I was really nervous, I was kind of stressed out,” said Knox, a freshman. “I thought, ‘I need to do something, I really want to win this.’

“So I walked up there, said I’m going to hit this, and I swung at the first one and hit it (into the outfield).”

Morse, meanwhile, could do nothing with Currier, who knew in warm-ups that she was going to have a good day.

“All my pitches were working,” she said. “I was throwing really hard. And we just worked as a team and went out there and played our best.”

She walked the second batter of the game but kept pounding the ball inside, never allowing the Shipbuilders to get any power in their swings. She had a no-hitter through four innings before Carpenter hit a grounder up the middle just out of the reach of shortstop Sawyer Dusch. But Carpenter was caught in a rundown between second and third to end that threat, and Currier eased through the final six Morse batters.

“We just didn’t hit the ball today,” said Morse Coach Wil Laffely. “One-run ball game. You’ve got to get some hits and score some runs. We just couldn’t get any hits today.”

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

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