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AUBURN — The final out was made, the championship was won and it was time to celebrate for the Cheverus softball team.

Not once, but twice.

Addison DeRoche struck out 15 batters, the last of which stranded the tying run on second base, and Cheverus completed an undefeated season with a 3-2 victory over Hampden Academy in the Class A championship game Saturday at Central Maine Community College.

“It means a lot, for sure. Every day you show up for this, and you show up to hopefully get a chance to play in this game,” DeRoche said. “It was definitely a stressful game, so I’m really proud of how we fought and stayed together.”

The Stags (20-0), the favorite all season to win their second title in three years, became the first undefeated Class A champion since Scarborough in 2019. They did it after an obstruction call at second base on what would have been the final out, put the tying run on base for Hampden (13-7) as Cheverus was forced to retake the field and try for the 21st out once again.

“I feel like we’re all on cloud nine,” senior center fielder Hailey Lamontagne said. “It was a little bit emotional at first when they took it away from us, but I think that just made it feel even better when we got it.”

With Cheverus up 3-1 in the seventh, Cat Facchini reached on a one-out infield single, then scored on Piper Parker’s two-out single to left. DeRoche cut off the throw home and fired to Anna Goodman, who tagged Parker trying to advance to second.

The Stags started their celebration, but the umpires conferred and concluded that Parker was entitled to the base because of obstruction. That prompted a team huddle called by Cheverus coach John Eisenhart.

“We’ve been talking about six seconds at a time. It takes about six seconds to throw a pitch, get the ball back an re-engage the mound,” he said. “That was really the message, to go back to that. We’ve got to be the most mentally tough team, here, right now.”

His ace steadied herself. DeRoche fanned the last Hampden batter, and the celebration was on again.

For good this time.

“That was kind of a weird way to win a championship,” DeRoche said. “I was (telling myself), ‘This is not just another play. I really have to lock in and focus on what’s working for me.’ I just needed one out, but the last three outs are the hardest to get.”

Sadie Collins gave Cheverus a 1-0 lead with an RBI single that brought in Kylie Lamson in the second inning, and the Stags went up 2-0 in the third when Lamontagne walked and scored on Abby Kelly’s single to center.

Hampden, no-hit through three innings, answered in the fourth when Mariah Coon lofted a single to center and scored on Facchini’s double into the gap.

The Stags pushed across a final run in the seventh when Collins drew a walk and scored on Cameron Gagnon’s single to left.

As it turned out, the Stags needed every run they could get. Hampden wasn’t about to go quietly.

“This team will never give up,” Hampden coach Jarrod Williams said. “We just thought we could start to time her up a little bit later in the game, I felt we did a little bit. We just needed to keep it (to) one less run.”