When Bangor senior catcher Jeri Cosgrove took a foul tip off her left (throwing) hand in the Rams’ opener April 21 against Brewer, causing a bruise in the bone, the Rams didn’t panic.
As Cosgrove sat out two games, sophomore Annie Guare stepped in and got the job done offensively and defensively for coach Don Stanhope’s team, helping them win both games, including a four-hit performance against Lawrence of Fairfield April 26.
“Annie did great behind the plate, we have a lot of people on the bench who can come out at anytime and play their A-game, so she did great,” said pitcher Sam Bedore.
It was Cosgrove, who returned to the lineup on Thursday against Messalonskee of Oakland, who helped Guare.
“As soon as she went out the next game, she was Annie’s voice, the voice in her ear every half-inning,” Stanhope said. “She really showed great senior leadership to help out the younger player. And Annie, to her credit, did an amazing job.”
Cosgrove is sporting a small red cast on her left hand, and played in the flex position — meaning she plays defense but doesn’t bat — against Messalonskee, and said she’s feeling considerably better.
“Right after it happened it was pretty painful to hold the ball but its feeling a lot better,” said Cosgrove, who had no issues with her throwing upon returning.
Cosgrove added she felt confident that she would return to the lineup, especially being a senior.
“Obviously I want it to heal and to feel better, but there’s a point where you can deal with pain and I guess I’ve got to do that,” she said. “I’ve been icing and I’ve been doing some exercises with grips and stuff.”
Cosgrove and the Rams, who sit at 6-0, are entering a key stretch of games this week, which started with Monday’s 4-1 road victory over Skowhegan, followed by home games against Erskine Academy this afternoon and Cony of Augusta on Friday.
Ellsworth on target
Even though the Ellsworth softball team sits with a 2-2 record after its first four games, senior pitcher Tashia Daley thinks things are heading in the right direction.
“I know we’re going to make playoffs,” Daley said. “I have a lot of faith in my team, we all get along really well.”
Daley and the Eagles have good reason to be optimistic: The righthander, a transfer from Sumner of East Sullivan who recently signed with Division I Niagara University, brings a strong pitching resume to coach Rick Roberts’ team while the first-year head coach has a roster of proven veterans.
“This is a very good team, I don’t know how good we’re going to get, we’re both young and we have some veterans,” Roberts said. “I think honestly in Class B there is a great deal of equal teams with both pitching and with defense.”
With that said, Roberts is putting an emphasis on offense.
“Getting hits and scoring runs, that’s where our focus is, because we do have the strong pitching,” he said.
Junior third baseman Ashley Smith plays along with Daley at Frozen Ropes in Portland, while Roberts’ other seniors besides Daley are shortstop Anna Seavey, outfielder Lily Cooper, infielder Giulia Frugoni, an exchange student from Italy, and outfielder Jordan Randall.
Roberts also features a couple of promising freshmen in catcher Kristin Wright and Heather Holt, who can play everywhere, while Wright has done a solid job handling Daley behind the plate.
“There’s a lot of pressure on her catching a Division I pitcher, but she’s done a great job,” he said.
Daley certainly brings a lot of experience to the table, having played in two Eastern Maine Class C championship games, including one last year five months after a knee injury.
After Ellsworth recently suffered a tough loss to fellow Class B contender Bucksport in which it committed five errors, Daley brought her teammates together for a little meeting.
“I just pulled my whole team aside and said we just needed to just forget about it,” she said. “I don’t think it makes it any better if we lash out at each other and just get mad. Pitchers are supposed to have short memories.”
Daley pitched very well in a 3-1 victory over MDI on Saturday, recording a no-hitter while striking out 10 Trojans and also recording a pair of hits and driving in a run.
