AUGUSTA — While a number of the top pitchers in the state were delivering heat Thursday night, plenty of balls were flying over the fence at Cony Family Field.
Maine’s top senior softball players strutted their stuff in fine fashion, and it was the West which came away with the sweep, taking the Classes A-B All-Star game 12-6 on a bright, sunny afternoon.
The Western C-D All-Stars earned a 10-3 triumph in 6½ innings in the first game. That contest was halted after the top of the seventh due to the 1-hour, 45-minute curfew rule to get game two started on time.
The games were co-sponsored by the Maine High School Softball Coaches Association and the Frozen Ropes Training Facility in Portland.
The winner of Miss Maine Softball, symbolic of the state’s top senior player, will be awarded at Tuesday’s Maine-New Hampshire Senior All-Star game at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.
Frozen Ropes co-owner Lynn Coutts said the nominees for Miss Softball have not been voted upon as of Thursday, and no nominees will be announced until the winner is announced on Tuesday.
The award is voted on by the state’s coaches.
In the A-B game, Bangor ace Sam Bedore proved why she’s earned the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year accolade, firing two scoreless innings in the first and sixth while striking out five, including the side in the sixth.
“I felt good, it’s really cool to come out here and play with all the top players,” said Bedore, who is on her way to the University of Rhode Island in the fall to play on a full scholarship.
The West jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, with Gray-New Gloucester’s Laura Getchell singling and scoring on an error, and Maranacook of Readfield’s Sarah Maxwell blasting a two-run homer to left.
Thornton Academy of Saco’s Sam Martemucci gave the West two more runs with a deep opposite-field double to right in the third.
The West continued its offensive onslaught in the fifth, with Greely of Cumberland Center’s Marika Stayte and Denise Freitas of Sanford ripping back-to-back two-run doubles, while Cheverus’ Anna Snook reached on an error and stole home for the other run.
The East finally got its bats going in the last of the sixth, with Medomak Valley of Waldoboro’s Kayla Santheson and Bedore each plating runs with base hits.
Once again, their Western cousins responded quickly, with Snook driving home a run with a double and Getchell another with a single in the seventh.
Two more East runs followed in the bottom half on an RBI double by Amy Jones of Cony, who also scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Erskine Academy’s Sam Morse.
Ellsworth’s Tashia Daley, also playing Division I ball next year at Niagara University, got in on the fun in the eighth with a two-run, opposite-field homer to right-center.
The shot was only Daley’s second over-the-fence homer of her career, with both coming this season.
“I think [the pitch] was outside, I think I actually went with it and I’ve never done that all season, so I was pretty happy,” said Daley, who wasn’t too nervous about facing the powerful West lineup in the circle.
“I play against them all during the summertime so I wasn’t really worried about it,” Daley said.
Even though the West pitchers stymied the East bats for a while, the game was more about having a good time no matter what the scoreboard said.
“It was completely easy-going there was no pressure at all, so I enjoyed it,” Daley said. “I played other positions I never played during the season.”
“It’s really fun to all get together and play against a group we’ve never played against before,” Bedore added.
Messalonskee of Oakland’s Juliana Fekete and Hannah Morin of Old Town contributed base hits for the East.
In the C-D game, the West wasted no time getting on the board, reaching Woodland’s Shelby Bassett for three first-inning runs.
Carrabec of North Anson’s Myranda Knight and Georges Valley of Thomaston’s Danielle Frye led off with back-to-back singles, and after moving to second and third on a wild pitch, Morgan Hutchins of Dirigo of Dixfield smacked a two-run double to the center-field fence.
Eticia Brickman of Richmond drove in the other run with a sacrifice fly to right.
The West added six more in the second, with Dirigo’s Katrina Pulk, Carrabec’s Knight and Danielle Breault of Hall-Dale in Farmingdale each bringing in runs with singles.
Frye added an RBI on a fielder’s choice.
The Bucs’ ace was dominant through the first four innings, yielding just two hits while striking out five.
Frye was certainly happy just to be playing, as she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her left (planting) knee in January, and plans to have surgery later this summer.
“It was fun, I wasn’t really stressed about it, all these girls were awesome to play with,” said Frye, who will attend the University of Maine in the fall but isn’t planning on playing softball.
Frye wore a brace on her knee throughout the season and it provided enough stability for her to play.
Hall-Dale lefthander Lindsey LaChance pitched the final three frames for the West, recording three strikeouts while allowing three runs on four hits.
The West scored another run in the fourth on a wild pitch.
The East scored its first two runs in the top of the sixth, with Searsport’s Sarah Bradshaw walking and scoring on a wild pitch while Victoria St. Pierre of Limestone/MSSM knocked in the other with a groundout to the circle, scoring Foxcroft Academy’s Sam Snyder, who had reached on a fielder’s choice.
Central of Corinth’s Michelle Ferrie drove in another East run in the seventh with a single to left.
Katahdin of Stacyville’s Melissa Duffy and Kali Rush each recorded a hit for the East, along with Limestone’s St. Pierre, Bassett of Woodland and Stearns of Millinocket’s Angela Levesque.
(Class C-D game)
East 000 002 1 — 3 6 2
West 360 100 x — 10 9 1
Bassett, Boss (3), Bassett (5) and St. Pierre, Snyder (3), Wilkinson (5); Frye, Lachance (5) and Knight, Breault (3), Knight (5)
(Class A-B game)
West 032 050 200 — 12 12 0
East 000 002 220 — 6 6 1
Hendrix, Dellatore (3), Maxwell (5), Zambello (6), King (7), Getchell (8) and Thibeault, Carrier (3), Thibeault (5), Carrier (6), Thibeault (7), Grovo (8); Bedore, Ryan (2), McCarty (3), Morse (4), Daley (5), Bedore (6), Santheson (7), Ryan (8), McCarty (9) and Gray, Fekete (2), Gray (3), Fekete (4), Gray (5), Fekete (6), Gray (7), Fekete (8), Gray (9)
