Every athlete faces pressure in a different way. Some rise to the challenges placed in front of them, while others fold.
Richmond freshman softball pitcher Meranda Martin is her team’s only pitcher, something that is not unusual in Maine high school softball.
However, how about this for pressure?
Martin is following her big sister Leandra, a three-time state finalist, and last year’s ace Jamie Plummer, who pitched the Bobcats to the State Class D title.
To say the least, the youngster has some big shoes to fill.
So far, so good, as Martin and her teammates rolled to a 14-2 victory over Class C Sacopee Valley on Tuesday, giving the Bobcats a 4-0 mark, with East- West Conference rival Valley slated to visit on Thursday.
The righty was solid, recovering from a first-inning run by the Hawks (2-4) to finish with a four-hitter. She struck out three and didn’t walk a hitter.
“Meranda is pitching very well for us,” said longtime Richmond coach Rick Coughlin, in his 28th year. “She loves the game, and she really wants to do well. Meranda has just taken over.”
The freshman has certainly received a ton of run support this season. In Richmond’s four games, the Bobcats are averaging 17 runs per contest. Coughlin credits a former pitcher with his team’s hitting prowess.
“Leandra (Martin) pitches batting practice for us, and I think that is why we are crushing the ball right now,” said Coughlin.
“It makes me feel so good, and I get so confident in myself and my defense when we are scoring runs the way that we have,” said Martin.
Richmond responds
After Sacopee Valley claimed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Miranda Schaubhut, Richmond evened things in the bottom of the frame. Martin bunted for a single, stole second and third, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Kelsea Anair.
Martin found her groove, setting the Hawks down in order in both the second and third frames.
“I use my knuckleball, curveball and drop a lot, and I am working on my riser,” said the freshman, who says she feels some pressure prior to each game. “It is hard to fill in that role. I am nervous coming into games. But, I try to battle hard every game and so far it has worked.”
Richmond claimed the lead in the second. With two outs, Cassidy Harriman singled and Emily Douin turned on a McKenzie Cormier pitch for a long RBI triple for a 2-1 Bobcats lead. No. 9 hitter Katlyn Swan followed with an RBI single for a 3- 1 Richmond lead.
The Bobcats broke things open in the third, batting around and scoring four runs for a 7-1 edge. Martin started things with single and stole her third of four bases on the afternoon. An error plated Martin, and after Kelsie Obi walked and Kalah Patterson bunted for a single to load the bases, Harriman ( single), Douin (groundball) and Swan (single) each picked up an RBI.
“Last night we had 15 runs against Buckfield (a 15-3 Bobcats win), and had over 30 runs total against Vinalhaven in two games,” said Coughlin. “This may be one of the best hitting teams that I have had.”
An RBI single by Jamie Gaughran scored Jordan Miner with Sacopee Valley’s second run in the fourth inning, but Anair answered with an RBI single, scoring Martin, in the bottom of the frame for an 8-2 lead.
Madison Schaubhut relieved Cormier ( four innings, nine hits, eight runs, five earned, three walks, one strikeout) for the fifth, and the Bobcats responded. Ten hitters came to the plate in the frame, with Anair and Patterson each launching runscoring triples as Richmond scored six runs for the 12-run Mercy Rule win.
Harriman paced Richmond’s 14-hit attack with three singles and two RBIs. Martin, Anair, Patterson and Swan picked up two hits apiece, with Anair driving in three runs, and Douin and Swan adding two RBIs.
Richmond 14,
Sacopee Valley 2
| At Richmond | ||||
| Sacopee Valley | — 100 | 10 | — | 2-4-1 |
| Richmond — | 124 | 16 | — | 14-14-1 |
McKenzie Cormier, Madison Schaubhut (5) and Madeline Sanborn; Meranda Martin and Camryn Hurley. Triples — (R) Emily Douin, Kelsea Anair, Kalah Patterson. Repeat hitters — (R) Cassidy Harriman 3, Meranda Martin, Kelsea Anair, Kalah Patterson, Katlyn Swan. Records — Richmond 4-0, Sacopee Valley 2-4. Up next for Richmond — Thursday at home against Valley, 4 p.m.
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