PORTLAND — The Cheverus softball team didn’t try to hide it: There was a little more at stake for this one.

Addison DeRoche struck out 17 while twirling a two-hit shutout, Kylie Lamson’s two-run double keyed a fast start at the plate and Cheverus took down Windham 8-0 in the first matchup between the teams since the Eagles beat the Stags in last year’s Class A South final.

“They’re really good and our kids do get up for these games,” Cheverus coach John Eisenhart said. “We get up for all the games, but with the history that we have with Windham … I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little extra there because we respect them so much.”

The teams have met in the last two regional finals, each winning on the way to state championships. Cheverus outlasted Windham 2-0 in 10 innings in 2024, and the Eagles edged the Stags 1-0 last season.

“It’s in the back of my mind,” DeRoche said, “but it’s also a new year, a new version of me, a new team behind me, a new vibe. That’s really been great for us.”

Fast start

• The Stags (5-0) didn’t let Windham hang around. In the first inning, DeRoche, Hailey Lamontagne and Abby Kelly had consecutive singles, with Kelly’s hit scoring pinch-runner Giana Murphy to make it 1-0.

After an out, Lamson smacked the first pitch for a two-out double to right, scoring Kelly and Anna Goodman to make it 3-0.

“Every time against Windham, we want to start out great,” Lamson said. “Getting our bats going just made it easier for us.”

• Cheverus made it 5-0 in the second, with Sadie Collins singling and scoring on Cameron Gagnon’s single, and Goodman drawing a bases-loaded walk.

“We’ve really had a focus on scoring early,” Eisenhart said. “One thing over my three years here, I don’t think we’ve done a good job of scoring early. We’ve really put a focus and an emphasis on it.”

• In the fifth, Anna Kennedy-Jensen scored on DeRoche’s sacrifice fly, and two more scored on an error.

Highlight reel

What looked like Windham’s first hit became a defensive highlight. Ninth hitter Abhilasha Jain hit a hard grounder to first that hopped over Kelly’s glove, then deflected off the second baseman Goodman, who was backing up.

Goodman, however, stayed with the play and her toss to Kelly — with Kelly making a barehanded catch — was in time.

“Luckily, Anna was right behind me,” Kelly said. “I feel like she always has my back, in every sport, really.”

Improving approach

Eagles coach Darcey Gardiner said she was happier with her team’s at-bats as the game went on. DeRoche fanned the first eight batters she faced, but Jain broke up the run.

Two batters later, Nola Bryant doubled, and Addie Caiazzo reached on a bunt single in the sixth.

“We can’t let the first time through the lineup be ‘Let’s see three pitches and let Addie strike us out,'” Gardiner said. “Something we’ve been working at is slashing, the short swings. How can we implement that now so by June, we’re the best we can be at that?”

Stat leaders

• Cheverus: Addison DeRoche (seven innings, 17 strikeouts, two hits; RBI), Kylie Lamson (double, two RBI), Cameron Gagnon (three hits, RBI), Anna Kennedy-Jensen (two hits, run), Sadie Collins (two runs)

• Windham: Nola Bryant (double), Addie Caiazzo (single), Lacie Higgins (4.1 innings, three strikeouts)