CUMBERLAND — With two weeks left in the regular season, the Greely High softball team was scuffling. The Rangers had lost five straight, falling to a 5-7 record.
“We didn’t even know if we were going to make the playoffs,” said catcher Maddie Rawnsley.
Now, exactly one month since their last loss, the Rangers have won eight consecutive games and will face unbeaten Brewer (19-0) in the Class B state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Brewer High.
It’s one of numerous state championship games Saturday. The Class A and C baseball and softball championship games will be played at St. Joseph’s College. The Class B and D baseball state games will be played at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, with the Class D softball game also at Brewer. And there are four state championship lacrosse games at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
It’s an especially sweet day for Greely, which entered the tournament ranked sixth in Class B South.
“We were still working hard in practice but our hits just weren’t falling,” pitcher Kelsey Currier said. “We were hoping we would make it into the playoffs, but I don’t think we could imagine we would make it this far.”
Currier, who has pitched every game for Greely the last three years, had something to say about that, especially in the playoffs. In her last two games, both 1-0 victories, she allowed three hits while beating Gray-New Gloucester and Morse.
“It’s very comforting to have her out there,” said Rawnsley, who has caught Currier since Little League. “Her consistency and her calming presence are just huge on our team. We know we can count on her.”
But Currier insists this has been a team turnaround. As the season progressed, the younger players improved, especially defensively. And they started hitting up and down the lineup.
Coach Rob Hale noted that the older players, such as seniors Currier and Rawnsley, and junior Taylor LaFlamme, kept telling the younger players it was OK to make mistakes and to move on.
“We just needed to forget the mental piece and have fun with it,” said Currier, who will next play at Thomas College. “And that’s when it started to turn around.”
The Rangers also got a boost from an unexpected source. At one point in the season they were down to 11 players. So Hale went to his athletic director and asked if he could recruit a couple of new players. He was told he could. One of them was freshman Molly Obar, who gave up softball after Little League to concentrate on travel basketball.
Hale told her she would just be a pinch runner, but an injury forced him to put her into the outfield. And she blossomed. “The first practice I remembered how much fun (softball) was,” said Obar. “And I wanted to play.”
She tripled, then scored the only run in the regional final against Morse, with freshman Delia Knox delivering the hit.
“Everybody makes a contribution,” said Rawnsley. “Whether it’s cheering on the bench, catching balls in the outfield, making plays in the infield … It’s good to see. That’s how we’ve been winning.”
Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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