EAST SULLIVAN, Maine — On Jan. 20, Tashia Daley’s athletic world was turned upside down.
The Sumner High School junior tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in a home basketball game against Dexter, and all Daley could think while laying on the hardwood was that her favorite sport — softball — would be cruelly ripped away.
But Daley didn’t give up, and after having surgery shortly after the injury, she rehabbed hard and eventually worked her way back into the Tigers’ lineup on May 26 against George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.
“That’s the only thing I thought. I’m not a really big basketball fan, but I like the sport,” Daley said. “Softball’s my sport.”
Daley showed that she had returned to top pitching form by no-hitting GSA in a Class C semifinal Saturday. She’ll be hoping to retain that form when third-seeded Sumner meets top-ranked and undefeated Calais in the regional championship at Coffin Field in Brewer at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Regional action kicks off this afternoon in Brewer with No. 5 Woodland and No. 2 Limestone/Maine School of Science and Mathematics vying for Class D honors at 3 p.m. and No. 8 Medomak of Waldoboro taking on No. 7 Erskine Academy of South China in the Class B contest at 7.
On Wednesday in Augusta, top-ranked Cony entertains No. 2 Skowhegan in the Class A final at 7.
Class C: Sumner and Calais aren’t strangers, as the two teams met in last year’s regional final — a 6-5 Calais victory, and many players on the teams were teammates in Little League.
“I used to play with them in Little League. We went to Syracuse [for a regional tournament], so I know them all pretty well,” said Daley.
Daley’s comeback from the injury is nothing new to her family as her sister, Jessie, suffered a similar injury her senior year in 2007 — Tashia’s freshman season — but elected to hold off on surgery until after the season and led the Tigers to the Eastern Maine title.
Daley’s perseverance is also nothing new to Sumner coach Elwood “Bimbo” Pinkham.
“Tashia’s a tremendous worker. I’ve had a lot of girls come through here that have worked very, very hard,” he said. “She loves the game of softball so much, she puts so much time in.”
Senior infielder Lona Sargent pitched very well while Daley was working her way back, compiling an 8-1 record.
“Lona, she held us. She held everything together,” Pinkham said. “Lona’s a very, very good player.”
Sumner’s other key players include Angela Leach, Ashley Pennartz and Katelyn Hodgkins.
Calais also has a top-of-the-line pitcher in Tessa Clark, who allowed only one run on three hits in the Blue Devils’ 3-1 semifinal victory over Orono.
In a game that’ll feature two talented pitchers and a pair of deep lineups, the little things could determine who returns to Brewer for Saturday’s state championship game.
“Who hits the gaps and who commits the errors. We’ve got two very good teams coming together here, and we know each other very well having played each other so much,” Pinkham said.
Daley, who pushes off the rubber with her right knee, says she’s feeling good.
“I can’t complain, I didn’t even know I pitched a no-hitter [Saturday] until coach told me,” she said. “I don’t even think about those kind of things when I’m pitching.”
Class A: Skowhegan and Cony advanced to the regional final by knocking off the two teams that played for the regional crown last year, Bangor and 2008 state champ Brewer.
The Indians field one of the state’s top pitchers in junior Becca McCarty, who spun a five-hit shutout against the Rams on Saturday, walking nobody and striking out seven.
Cony has two solid pitchers in Jasmin Trott and Mika Wilson, who combined on a four-hitter against Brewer. Cony rallied from 2-0 down with a four-run fourth vs. the Witches.
Class B: Medomak is looking for a repeat of last year’s success, when it garnered the regional crown out of the No. 8 seed.
The Panthers are led by senior infielder Tessa Dodge, who doubled in a run to spark a three-run, eighth inning rally in a semifinal win over Bucksport.
Both Medomak and Erskine have talented pitchers in Kayla Vannah and Sam Morse, respectively.
Class D: Woodland has certainly played the role of road warriors this postseason, having won two games in two trips to Aroostook County (Katahdin of Stacyville in the quarters, top-ranked Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in the semis.).
Julia Nicholas came up with the big hit in the Dragons’ win over the Warriors with a three-run double to break a seventh-inning tie. Shelby Bassett is Woodland’s ace in the circle.
Many of the Dragons’ key players, including Nicholas, are no strangers to winning, as they were major parts of Woodland’s state title team in basketball over the winter.
