Messalonskee High School of Oakland pitcher Kirsten Pelletier, who has led her defending Class A state champion Eagles to a 15-0-1 record and the top seed for the Class A North playoffs, has been named the Maine Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
Right-hander Pelletier, who will attend Bates College in Lewiston in the fall, has a miniscule 0.25 ERA and has struck out 194 hitters in 112 innings. She also is hitting .367 with 14 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
“This is a great honor for her,” said Messalonskee coach Leo Bouchard. “Her command [of her pitches] is a little bit better this year. She has been a dominating presence on the mound. Nothing rattles her. She never shows any emotion.”
Pelletier has a six-pitch arsenal: fastball, screwball, changeup, rise, drop and curve.
Bouchard said Pelletier’s curve is her newest pitch, and she struggled with it early, but it has come around nicely of late and has become a legitimate sixth pitch.
He also said she has a terrific mind for the game and sets up hitters by “thinking two pitches ahead.”
He added that she has an “uncanny” ability to remember the strengths and weaknesses of each hitter and fields her position very well.
Pelletier is the team leader, and Bouchard said “she fires the team up with her enthusiasm.”