WINDHAM—The Game of the Year lived up to the hype.

Did it ever.

And softball fans can only hope they’ll be an encore next month in the regional final.

Friday afternoon, undefeated Cheverus traveled to Windham to meet the defending Class A state champions and not surprisingly, an epic ensued.

One that featured transcendent pitching, breathtaking plays in the field and one giant swing of the bat.

The Stags got off to a fast start in the top of first inning, as senior shortstop Kelsey Cassidy drew a walk off Eagles senior ace Brooke Gerry, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, then raced home on a single from sophomore centerfielder Hailey Lamontagne.

With freshman phenom Addison DeRoche, who entered the game not having surrendered a single run all season, on the mound, Cheverus had to like its chances and for three innings, the Stags managed to preserve their 1-0 advantage.

But Gerry led off the bottom of the fourth with a bunt single, moved to second on an error and took third on a passed ball. With one out, DeRoche threw a wild pitch and the game was tied.

Then, in the bottom of the fifth, junior first baseman Kennedy Kimball delivered the game’s biggest blow, making DeRoche appear mortal for the first time, crushing a home run for the lead. Junior rightfielder Kyla Harvie (remember that name), then added an insurance run by stealing her way around the bases to make the score 3-1.

But Cheverus refused to go quietly, loading the bases with one out in the top of the sixth. Gerry got the second out before junior first baseman Ashley Connor threatened to turn the game on its ear with a bloop to rightfield, but instead of resulting an extra base hit to clear the bases, it was caught by a diving Harvie in highlight-reel fashion to preserve the lead.

The bottom of the Stags order then put the tying runs on in the seventh, but Gerry got junior rightfielder Delia Tremble to ground out to second to end it and Windham survived, 3-1.

The Eagles completed their regular season at 16-0, earned the top seed for the upcoming Class A playoffs and in the process, handed Cheverus its first setback in 16 outings.

And it’s safe to say these teams aren’t done with each other.

“A game like this, this is what we play for, what we live for,” said the University of Rhode Island-bound Gerry. “We love to play competitive games like this. It was fun. Seeing how many people were in the crowd today, the energy that was there. We all had each other’s backs and we knew it would be a great game no matter what.”

“We learned a lot today and we’ll hopefully be able to use it to our benefit if we get the opportunity to play (Windham) again,” said Stags first-year coach John Eisenhart. “The level of play was outstanding. It was a lot of fun out here today.”

First chapter

To say Friday’s contest was highly anticipated would be an epic understatement.

In fact, the game had drawn advance buzz for weeks, as it became clear early in the season that the Eagles once again had that championship look and the Stags were a juggernaut as well.

The fact that the teams’ lone scheduled showdown came in the regular season finale made it that much more delicious.

Cheverus crushed just about every one of its 15 previous foes, most via the mercy rule.

The Stags started with decisive wins over host Sanford (25-0, in three-innings), visiting Scarborough (6-0, on a DeRoche no-hitter), visiting Kennebunk (10-0, in six-innings) and visiting Marshwood (10-0, in five-innings). After holding off visiting Bonny Eagle (7-3), the Stags had no trouble with host Noble (16-0, in three-innings), host South Portland (13-0, in five-innings) or visiting Deering (15-0, in three-innings). Visiting Gorham did give Cheverus its best previous game, but the Stags prevailed, 3-0. They then defeated host Biddeford (7-0, on a DeRoche no-hitter), host Thornton Aacdemy (15-5), visiting Portland (5-0, on another DeRoche no-hitter), host Falmouth (18-0, in four-innings), visiting Westbrook (18-3, in three-innings) and host Massabesic (11-0, in five-innings, behind a DeRoche perfect game).

Windham, meanwhile, began its title defense with an 11-0 (five-inning) blanking of Bonny Eagle. After shutting out Deering (6-0), the Eagles dispatched Thornton Academy (7-3), handled Gorham with surprising ease (13-0, in five-innings), then defeated Biddeford (17-2, in five-innings), Noble (12-0, in five-innings), Falmouth (23-0, in six-innings), Westbrook (10-0, in six-innings), Portland (15-0, in four-innings), Massabesic (10-0, in six-innings), Scarborough (5-0), Kennebunk (9-1), South Portland (8-0), Marshwood (8-2) and finally Sanford (17-0, in three-innings).

Each team had boasted nine mercy rule victories coming into the contest and while the Stags had outscored the opposition, 179-11, and pitched a dozen shutouts, the Eagles had a composite 171-8 margin of victory with 11 shutouts.

A year ago, Cheverus played very well at Windham but dropped a 2-0 decision.

Friday, on a picture-perfect day for a softball game of this magnitude (78 degrees at first pitch, with the wind blowing out), in front of a huge throng, the Stags sought to beat the Eagles for the first time in over a decade (a 5-3 road triumph May 5, 2014), but instead, Windham rallied to make it 10 straight victories in the series and wound up atop the region as a result.

Windham senior ace Brooke Gerry fires a pitch during Friday’s win over Cheverus. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald.

Gerry started Cassidy with a pair of strikes to start the contest, but Cassidy worked the count full, then barely held up on ball four to set the table. Tremble was next and she laid down a bunt in front of the plate on the first pitch she saw and while Gerry got to the ball and threw to first for the out, the sacrifice put Cassidy into scoring position. And after taking ball one, Lamontagne, delivered the run, lining a low fastball up the middle for an RBI single.

“It was a very promising start,” Eisenhart said. “Kelsey had a great at-bat. Delia lays down a perfect bunt to get her to second and Hailey knocked her in. That was well executed.”

Gerry settled in and fanned DeRoche with high heat on a 3-2 pitch before striking out sophomore second baseman Anna Goodman as well.

Cheverus had the early momentum and Windham was down, but certainly not out.

“We knew they would hit and we were prepared for it, but we knew we could hit too, so I didn’t get nervous,” Gerry said. “I stayed in my rhythm and kept going.”

“There’s a lot of outs in a softball game,” said Eagles coach Darcey Gardiner.

Cheverus freshman phenom Addison Deroche shows her form in the bottom of the first inning.

DeRoche preserved the lead in the bottom half, catching Gerry looking at a 2-2 pitch on the outside corner before getting sophomore shortstop Addie Caiazzo to go the other way and ground out to third before fanning junior catcher Stella Jarvais to end the frame.

Gerry settled in and struck out the side in the top of the side, fanning Connor, sophomore third baseman Anna Kennedy-Jensen and junior catcher Bella Napolitano Aberle.

In the bottom of the second, senior designated player Jadyn Kimball popped out to third leading off, then Kennedy Kimball hit a ground out to Goodman at second. DeRoche was at risk of going a whole inning without a strikeout for the first time all spring, but on a 2-2 pitch, she fanned sophomore second baseman Oakley McLeod.

In the top of the third inning, Gerry fanned freshman leftfielder Abby Kelly on a 3-2 pitch, then fanned Cassidy as well for her seventh consecutive strikeout, but Tremble singled up the middle on a 2-2 pitch. Lamontagne then ended the inning by grounding back to the mound.

In the bottom half, DeRoche fanned sophomore centerfielder Nola Bryant with some high heat, then struck out Harvie on three pitches. Junior third baseman Chloe Edwards got behind in the count, fought her way back full, then drew ball four, but with Gerry at the plate, Edwards was gunned down trying to steal by Napolitano Aberle, with Cassidy applying the tag to keep the score 1-0.

After DeRoche led off the top of the fourth by popping out foul to Jarvais near the backstop, Goodman chased strike three and Connor took strike three over the outside corner.

Gerry then sparked a rally in the bottom half to pull her team even.

Gerry bunted toward third base and she raced down the line for a single and when the throw to first got away, Gerry took second on the error.

“Coach mentioned (bunting) and after I swung and missed, I thought, ‘Why not,'” said Gerry. “I put the bunt down and it ended up going in my favor.”

“One through nine in the lineup, I give them a green light for a bunt,” Gardiner said. “They don’t have to wait for me to call it. We played a lot of small ball last year and we’ve done it this year. For (Brooke) to bunt, it was a perfect call on her part.”

With Caiazzo at the plate, a passed ball put Gerry at third, but Caiazzo took strike three. After Jarvais ripped a drive inches foul down the leftfield line, it appeared DeRoche might just escape the jam, but on the next pitch, she threw wild and outside and the ball got away all the way to the backstop, scoring Gerry to tie it.

While the run was unearned, it was first that DeRoche had surrendered in 54-plus innings of work.

“I knew I could do my best to hold them and our defense could do their best to hold them, but they’re a great team and they were going to score eventually,” said DeRoche.

Jarvais and Jadyn Kimball both struck out swinging, but the game was deadlocked, 1-1.

Riding that surge of momentum, Gerry struck out Kennedy-Jensen, got Napolitano Aberle to ground out first, then fanned Kelly with high heat to make quick work of the Stags in the top of the fifth.

Windham then went in front in the bottom half.

Leading off, Kennedy Kimball worked the count to a ball and a strike, then got all of a DeRoche heater, driving the ball deep to left, over the head of Kelly and over the wall for a home run and the lead.

“I know how great Addison is,” Kimball said. “She’s been amazing all year. After my first at-bat, I definitely made adjustments. I moved back in the box and I choked up on the bat. I was trying to lay off the high pitch and find that low pitch. I didn’t know it was over. It felt amazing.”

“I threw my wet, cold towel that I have,” Gerry said. “It was an amazing feeling.”

“Kennedy’s first at-bat, when she struck out, she really got the timing down and the location and she knew what pitch to expect and she drove it deep,” Gardiner added.

Cheverus could only tip its cap.

“(The pitch) got away from me,” said DeRoche. “I take responsibility for it, but she put a great swing on it.”

“Kennedy’s a great hitter,” said Eisenhart. “We caught too much of the plate there with that drop (pitch) and she hammered it, so credit to her.”

McLeod grounded out to third on a bang-bang play and Bryant struck out swinging, but Harvie reached on an error at short and with Edwards at the plate, Harvie stole second, stole third and when a pitch got loose in the dirt, Harvie started for home, retreated, the throw came to third and Harvie reversed course and raced to the plate and slid in safely to score. Edwards watched strike three, but just like that, the Eagles were on top, 3-1.

Facing its first late inning deficit of the season, the young Stags could have buckled, but instead, they just ratcheted up the drama.

For the second time in the game, Cassidy fell behind in the count two strikes, battled back full, then took ball four. After Tremble struck out on three pitches, Lamontagne ripped a pitch into the gap in left-center. Cassidy stopped at third on the double and just like that, the tying runs were on with DeRoche due up.

Windham then made the strategic decision to intentionally walk DeRoche, bringing Goodman to the plate. Goodman fouled off a couple pitches before her foul tip was held by Jarvais for the second out.

And that set the stage for the biggest play of the game.

Connor fell behind in the count 1-2, hit a foul ball, then went the other way and hit the ball down the rightfield line. Harvie got a good jump on the ball, but it appeared poised to drop to tie the game, or even put Cheverus in front, but Harvie dove and snared the ball just inches off the ground for a breathtaking third out.

“I knew that if something came my way, I had to go out and do all I can for my team,” Harvie said. “I try to be as confident as I can and I did my best. I was mostly reacting. I didn’t have much time to think, so I just went for it and got there as quick as I could. Most of the time, I want the ball hit to me. We’re such a good team that I don’t get too much hit out to me. It was just amazing. I had never done it before. To have that opportunity to go all out was great.”

“With Kyla in right, I wasn’t nervous,” said Gerry. “She goes all out for everything and that makes her the great player she is.”

“Kyla Harvie is a great soccer player, but she does the same thing on the softball field,” Gardiner added. “We put her in rightfield for a reason. She’s a stud outfielder and I’m so happy she came up big for us.”

Again, the Stags could only express their admiration.

“I always tell the kids it’s a game of inches,” said Eisenhart. “That ball Ashley hit with two strikes, she had an incredible at-bat, she hit a little flare and (Harvie) made a heck of a play. It could have been a different game if that fell in.”

DeRoche kept the Stags’ hopes alive in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Gerry on a foul tip, getting Caiazzo to line out to left, where Kelly made a terrific diving catch of her own, and after Javais singled up the middle, fanning Jadyn Kimball to send the contest to the fateful top of the seventh.

Kennedy-Jensen struck out on a 2-2 pitch leading off, but after fouling off multiple pitches, Napolitano Aberle grounded the ball to the right side and reached on an error. Sophomore Sadie Collins then came on to pinch-hit and she grounded a 2-2 pitch up the middle to put runners at first and second. Cassidy grounded the ball to Kennedy Kimball at first, who stepped on the bag for the second out and tried to end the game with a throw to second to double up Collins, but Collins slid in safely to not only keep the game alive, but put the tying runs in scoring position for Tremble.

Tremble, who delivered a hit earlier in the game, couldn’t do it again, hitting a weak grounder to McLeod at second and McLeod threw to first for the final out and at 6:08 p.m., after 99 riveting minutes, where every pitch mattered, Windham was able to celebrate its 3-1 victory.

“It means a lot to come out and beat a good team like that,” said Kennedy Kimball. “It felt good everyone was a part of this game.”

“We’ve been ready for this game,” Harvie said. “We’ve been excited. It was a great game for both teams.”

“I love we got behind early because it shows what these girls are made of,” Gardiner added. “It made them challenge their mental toughness and stay in the game. Thankfully, I have a very experienced team. We loved to see the crowd out here supporting female athletics, but we didn’t try to recognize the crowd until after the game and I think we did a good job of that.”

The Eagles only mustered three hits, but scored three times, as Gerry, Harvie and Kennedy Kimball touched the plate. Kimball had the team’s lone RBI.

Windham stranded just one baserunner.

Gerry battled throughout and earned the victory, allowing just one run on four hits in seven innings. She walked three, but struck out 14.

“You can’t let up,” said Gerry. “There’s definitely pressure, but I do better under pressure.”

Cheverus’ offense featured two hits and an RBI from Lamontagne. Cassidy scored the lone run.

The Stags left seven runners on, as they had multiple chances over the course of the afternoon.

DeRoche suffered her first loss even though she was once again superb. DeRoche surrendered three runs (one earned) on three hits in six innings. She walked just one and fanned a dozen.

“I was ready for it,” said DeRoche. “I had some butterflies, but it’s what I’ve worked for.”

“I played with Addie over the winter and we know each other on a personal level,” Gerry said. “She’s a great person, a great player, an all-around great teammate. It was fun going against her.”

While Cheverus was disappointed with the result, it’s effort was simply valiant.

“This shows a lot of about our character and ability to come back and persevere,” DeRoche said. “We stayed up until the final pitch.

“It was awesome. It was electric. The environment was amazing. I looked out and the whole bank (in the outfield) was filled with people. It was amazing for Maine softball.”

“I hate losing, but I’m just really proud of the kids and the way they competed,” Eisenhart said. “Windham is battle-tested and we hadn’t been in a game like this. We’re a young team. I told the kids coming in that if we won, we’d learn from the game and if we lost, we’d learn from the game. We got pressure-tested today and I feel like the kids did a good job battling through.

“It was incredible. It was a beautiful day. I told the kids to soak it in and enjoy the moment. We had two Division I pitchers going, which was incredible. The kids have been looking forward it. We haven’t looked past our opponents because we have respect for every team in the league, but this game has been circled on the schedule. To me, it lived up to billing. I knew it would be a tight game.”

Rest time

Both teams will now be idle for nearly two weeks. The Class A South quarterfinals begin Thursday, June 6, on the fields of the higher seeds.

The Eagles will be the top seed for the playoffs and will be home the first two rounds, wearing the bullseye.

Again.

“We’re trying to take it one game at a time,” Kennedy Kimball said. “We know any game could be our last now, so it’s really important to remain in the moment.”

“Playoffs is playoffs,” said Gerry. “Everyone will be coming for us and we just have to be ready.”

“We tried to go through the year focusing on us, not worrying about what the other teams can do, and if we focus on what we can do and what our 1 through 9 batters can do in the playoffs, we’ll be all set,” Gardiner added.

The Stags are coming off the best regular season in program history and will be the No. 2 seed for the tournament.

Cheverus will host a quarterfinal round game Thursday, June 6 and if it wins that one, it will host the semifinals two days later.

“We have to adapt to the pitches we missed and clean up the errors we made,” DeRoche said. “We know we need to do better next time.”

“I’ll take 15-1 all day long,” said Eisenhart. “Obviously, having Addison is incredible, but we’ve made great plays behind her. What’s clicked is that the kids care about each other. They give up at-bats for each other. They root for each other.

“The path won’t be easy. We could run into an Amber Bretton (of Gorham), or Sadie (Armstrong) from Portland High, or Julia (Pike, of Kennebunk), so we won’t take any game for granted.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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