HERMON, Maine — Rusty Worcester was doing some homework.
The Oceanside High School softball coach and Medomak Valley coach Richard Vannah made the trip to Hermon on Tuesday to watch potential playoff opponents Hermon and Old Town.
The visit demonstrates the preparation and attention to detail that have helped Worcester make Oceanside a perennial title contender.
Oceanside, the product of the 2011 merger between Rockland District High School and Georges Valley High School in Thomaston, won the state Class B championship in 2013. The Mariners are in the process of making another bid this season.
They took a 10-0 record into a Wednesday game at Lincoln Academy of Newcastle and were atop the Class B North Heal Points standings, having outscored their opponents 112-29.
They dealt Winslow its only loss, 11-8, and have noteworthy wins over 9-3 Nokomis of Newport and 7-3 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.
The Mariners have done so starting four freshmen. Chloe Jones is their No. 1 pitcher, Rachel Joyce plays second base, Hannah Moholland is the center fielder and Abby Veilleux is at third base.
“We’re young but dangerous. These girls live and breathe the game,” said Worcester, who is in his 16th year as a head coach, including his time directing the fortunes of Georges Valley.
His Georges Valley teams captured state Class C crowns in 2007 and 2008.
He said this is one of his youngest teams and he has been surprised by their success.
To a point.
“If we did come together and play as well as we could, I thought we could be sitting where we are right now,” said Worcester.
He has a formidable lineup thanks to time they spend on hitting.
“We spend a lot of time on teaching the fundamentals of hitting,” said Worcester, who stresses quick, compact swings as opposed to big, looping swings.
“If you put the ball in play, some of the teams we play will make mistakes, especially teams with dominant pitchers who aren’t used to fielding the ball,” said Worcester, a native of Columbia Falls.
Another trademark of Worcester-coached teams is aggressive baserunning, which puts constant pressure on opposing defenses.
“We steal a lot of bases and we’re always looking to take the extra base,” said Worcester. “You don’t have to have blazing speed but you like to have smart baserunners and we have a lot of girls who do that very well.”
In addition to the freshman starters, the Mariners start seniors Ari Curtis behind the plate, Brianna Duggan at first base and Kalyn Grover in left field, sophomore Casey Pine at shortstop and junior Alexis Mazurek in right field.
Grover and Curtis have been the offensive catalysts.
Sophomore Kristina Ferguson is the No. 2 pitcher.
“Chloe and Kristina both throw pretty well,” said Worcester.
The Mariners have also been solid defensively, committing just five errors.
“I’ve been pretty happy with that. Defense keeps you in ballgames,” said Worcester, who added that he has an extremely coachable group of players.