For those who remember Robbie Gilmore when he was a prolific power hitter for Brewer High, the Brewer American Legion team and at Husson University, it’s not surprising that his daughter Emily is ripping the cover off the ball for the Bangor High School Rams.
Entering Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class A championship game against Messalonskee of Oakland, the junior center fielder was hitting a team-leading .478 for the Bangor softball team.
She also led the team with five homers and had 13 doubles and two triples. She had an on-base percentage of .545 and had 18 RBIs.
“It has been a good year,” said Gilmore, who had four hits in Bangor’s playoff wins over Brewer and Cony of Augusta, including a triple and a double.
“She’s probably the best hitter I’ve seen, along with the first baseman from Oxford Hills [Anna Winslow] and Arika [Cony pitcher Brochu],” said Cony coach Rocky Gaslin.
“I tried everything to get her out,” said Cony senior ace Brochu. “I pitched her inside, outside, up, down. She’s easily the best hitter in the league. She makes solid contact all the time.”
Brochu said after facing Gilmore for three years, they will be teammates on the Portland-based Maine Thunder softball team this summer.
“I’m really looking forward to spending six weekends playing on her team,” Brochu said.
Former Brewer High School athletic director Dennis Kiah, who coached Gilmore’s father when he played at Brewer and with the Brewer Legion team, said she is following in her father’s footsteps.
Emily Gilmore started for the Witches as a freshman and was one of coach Skip Estes’ leading hitters before she decided to transfer to Bangor at the outset of her sophomore year.
“Her dad was a great hitter. He hit for power and average,” said Kiah.
He pointed out that one of the keys to her success is her work ethic.
“She is always taking extra batting practice, even away from her own practice. She will come over and hit in our cage,” said Kiah. “She puts in the extra time and effort. She thrives on it.”
Her father used to be a softball assistant at Brewer.
She will often be accompanied by her dad when she takes extra batting practice.
“Robbie is an excellent hitting instructor,” Kiah added.
“My dad not only helps me [during batting practice], he also helps me with the mental approach to hitting,” she said.
“She puts in more extra time hitting outside of practice than any kid we’ve ever had,” said Bangor coach Don Stanhope.
Gilmore has done a good job understanding how other teams are going to pitch to her, Stanhope added.
“She has great bat speed and exceptional hand-eye coordination,” he said.
Emily Gilmore is quick to credit her Bangor teammates with playing an important role in her development.
“We have such a great team, I haven’t had to try to do more than I can this year,” said Gilmore, who also spends time working out in the gym to keep in shape.
Success has followed the Holden native to Bangor, as Wednesday’s Eastern Maine championship game will be her third in three different sports at Bangor.
She is a goalkeeper on the soccer team and helped Bangor win the EM title in 2013. She is a starting point guard on the basketball team and the Rams reached the EM championship game this past season.