Their success on the hardwood is translating onto the diamond.
Yes, Woodland High School has been a powerhouse in girls basketball this decade, having won three of the last four Class D state championships.
Now, the Dragons have a chance to make history for the second time this week, as the Eastern Maine champions will be seeking the program’s first state softball title only four days after bringing home the school’s first regional crown.
Woodland will go for state championship glory Saturday at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish as it battles Western Maine champ Buckfield, also the reigning state champion, at 4 p.m.
Fryeburg Academy battles Medomak Valley of Waldoboro in the Class B game, also in Standish, at 11 a.m.
Calais meets Telstar of Bethel in the Class C contest at 3 p.m. Monday at Coffin Field in Brewer.
Scarborough and Skowhegan will square off in the Class A game Monday at a time and site to be determined
Even though Woodland has been highly successful in basketball over the years, it didn’t carry over to the softball diamond.
When coach Rick Pullen took the job six years ago, the Dragons had gone two seasons without a win, but the team has shown steady growth in recent seasons and reached the semifinals last spring before losing 1-0 at Ashland.
“We’ve steadily gotten better and better,” Pullen said.
With a healthy corps of returnees from last year’s squad and with a great deal of the roster fresh off a state championship run last winter, the pieces were there for Woodland to succeed this spring.
So far, things are going just fine.
“It’s just amazing, everything that’s been happening, like with this whole softball thing and basketball all in the same year, it’s amazing,” said junior infielder Ariel Knights.
Classmate Shelby Bassett has been strong in the circle for Woodland this spring. She compiled 12 strikeouts in a 4-1 victory over Limestone/Maine School of Science and Mathematics in the regional final Tuesday.
“I knew that we had a strong team and Shelby is an amazing pitcher and if we just executed on the field and if Shelby was pitching well, we’d do fine,” said senior catcher Julia Nicholas, who didn’t play organized softball until her freshman season.
Since Baileyville doesn’t field a youth softball program, Nicholas played baseball with the boys growing up.
Bassett has a 14-1 record this spring despite missing three games with an injury in her right (push-off) leg.
Pullen feels Woodland’s basketball championship experience is paying dividends.
That’s big, the girls that played on those basketball teams keep their cool very well in the pressure games like this one and the [semifinal game] was a close one, too, against Southern Aroostook,” he said.
Pullen has gotten a balanced effort game in and game out from his roster.
“It’s always a team effort no matter what we do. Every game has been that way. Everyone works hard in practice and we all do exactly what our coach tells us to do,” Knights said.
Nicholas, who has won three state championships in basketball, wants nothing more than to win one more title.
“I want to add another one, definitely, and finish my senior year with two state championships [over one calendar year],” she said.
The Dragons will have to play their best against the defending state champs from Buckfield if they want to finish their championship run.
“It’s going to be two good pitchers going at it. It should be a close game, it really should,” Pullen said.
Coach Ken Farrington’s Bucks own the last three state crowns, and he’s anticipating a challenge.
“They’ve had a great year, they’ve been playing well, it looks like they’re peaking right now,” said Farrington.
Buckfield is led by senior LeAnn Abbott — the lone senior on the club — sophomore Alicia Patrie and junior pitcher Brittany Wiley.
Class A: Skowhegan and Scarborough aren’t strangers, as they not only met in the state final two seasons ago — a 2-0 Scarborough victory — but they played in a preseason round-robin in Scarborough.
Both teams have talented pitching in Indians’ junior Becca McCarty and Scarborough freshman Mo Hanna.
“I’ll be real surprised if it’s a high scoring game at all,” said Scarborough coach Tom Griffin. “If both teams have excellent pitching and defense, then it’s probably going to play out to be a 1-0, 2-1 type of game.”
Scarborough features another talented pitcher in junior Melissa Dellatore and one of the state’s top hitters in senior Catie Funk.
“She’s a very powerful young lady, great bat speed, knows the strike zone,” Griffin said.
A lot of Funk’s strength and explosiveness comes from being a champion shot putter, and she’s hit .653 with seven homers, three triples, five doubles, 28 RBIs and six stolen bases this spring.
Class B: One of the favorites for Miss Maine Softball will be on display in Fryeburg pitcher Hannah Hill, but she’ll face a Medomak lineup that has been tough throughout the postseason.
Coach Glenn Barbour’s Panthers already has defeated two of Eastern Maine’s top pitchers in Mattanawcook’s Tayla Trask and Erskine’s Sam Morse.
“We’re going to bring our best game at them, we’ve got a lot of confidence now,” said Barbour. “They’ve hit [Hill] before, they’ll go up there swinging.”
The Panthers are led by senior infielder Tessa Dodge, Medomak Valley’s top hitter, and senior pitcher Kayla Vannah, who threw a two-hitter in the EM final against Erskine.
Class C: Calais is seeking its first state title while Telstar is going for its first since 2006, when it beat Central of Corinth 1-0.
Coach Greg Smith’s Blue Devils got a fine pitching performance from Tessa Clark in the regional final against Sumner, while Calais has solid offensive depth.
