STANDISH — Powered by a five-run second inning, Madison capped an undefeated season with a 7-3 victory over Narraguagus in the Class C softball state championship game Saturday at St. Joseph’s College.

Narraguagus scored three runs in the top of the first inning but couldn’t follow up against Madison ace Lauria LeBlanc, who finished with a two-hitter.

Madison (20-0) earned its third state title in five seasons and ninth overall, and gave Chris LeBlanc his 100th career coaching victory.

“Chris calls it our second home for a reason,” Madison senior center fielder Sydney LeBlanc said of Bailey Field, where the Bulldogs also won state championships in 2014 and 2016, along with a regional title in 2017.

LeBlanc delivered the Bulldogs’ most crushing blow – a three-run double with two outs in the second inning that gave Madison a 5-3 lead.

That was all the offensive support Lauria LeBlanc needed. The sophomore left-hander struck out 14 and didn’t allow a walk or an earned run.

“She’s got a little attitude in her,” Chris LeBlanc said. “She probably figured if they don’t hit it, I don’t have to worry about those plays (behind her).”

After LeBlanc needed just five pitches to record the game’s first two outs, Narraguagus (18-2) capitalized on some fielding miscues. Three straight batters pounded balls in the direction of senior shortstop Annie Worthen, and she was unable to field them cleanly. By the time Kaci Alley reached on the third error of the inning, Narraguagus had a 3-0 lead.

Chris LeBlanc knew his team would respond.

“As I’ve said all along, we’ve had those peaks and valleys within a game, and this was the perfect example of it,” he said. “I didn’t even say anything to them (after the first inning).”

Whitney Bess drove home Ashley Emery with a groundout in the bottom of the first, and then the Bulldogs put together their own two-out rally in the second against Narraguagus junior Lanie Perry.

Emily Edgerly’s RBI triple down the left-field line was followed by Sydney LeBlanc’s go-ahead double and Worthen’s RBI single.

“It was unlucky for us,” Perry said. “I knew I hadn’t quite hit my spot yet, but I settled in afterward pretty good. We just couldn’t get our bats going again.”

Lauria LeBlanc retired 15 in a row starting with the final out of the first inning and allowed only one more base runner – a two-out bloop single by Kylee Joyce in the sixth.

“I knew that after first inning that we had to get our stuff together, and I knew I had to get my own stuff together,” Lauria LeBlanc said. “I needed to just relax and go out there and do it.”

Madison added a run in the sixth on a sacrifice by Emery.

Chris LeBlanc said his team’s experience in big games was helpful in overcoming the early deficit.

“We’ve been in games before, unfortunately, where we’ve made mistakes,” he said. “Knowing the temperament of the team, you don’t need to tell them anything. They already know it. If it’s a younger team that doesn’t know how to win and how to rebound, your approach might be a little different.”

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