BREWER, Maine — When you score six runs and collect 12 hits in a state championship high school softball game, that often results in a victory.
Not when you’re playing the Richmond Bobcats.
The Bobcats pounded out 15 hits and collected their 70th consecutive victory and fourth straight state Class D championship with a 15-6 victory over Stearns of Millinocket.
The game was a rematch of last year’s D final.
The Bobcats (18-0) jumped out to a 9-1 lead after two innings but the Minutemen rallied for five runs in the third and another in the fourth to close to within 9-6.
But winning pitcher Meranda Martin belted a two-out triple to right in the fifth inning and scored on an infield error to make it 10-6 and the Bobcats added another insurance run in the sixth on Sydney Tilton’s sharp ground double down the third-base line and Kalah Patterson’s ground single to left before breaking it open with four in the seventh.
“When it became 9-6, I wasn’t really worried because we’ve been in situations like that before. I trust my team and I knew we’d come through. And I trusted Meranda,” said sophomore catcher Sydney Tilton, who had two doubles, a single and three RBIs.
“They’re definitely the best hitting team I’ve pitched against all season,” added Stearns pitcher Jess Girsa. “They put the bat on the ball really well.”
The Bobcats wasted little time jumping out to a lead as they scored three times in the first inning when Martin was hit by a pitch, raced to third on Cassidy Harriman’s sacrifice and, after a walk to Kelsea Anair, she scored on Tilton’s base hit.
Kalah Patterson followed with a long RBI double to left and Caitlin Kendrick singled her home.
Audrey Dunstan singled home a run in the bottom of the first for Stearns but Martin’s two-run single highlighted a four-run second-inning rally and Harriman blooped a two-run single into right in the third to make it 9-1.
The Minutemen (17-3) rallied with four in the third on singles by Lauren Jamo, Cassidy McLeod, Grace Farrington and Maddy Morrison and two infield errors.
They added another in the fourth on McLeod’s lead-off triple and Grace Farrington’s two-out single. But that’s as close as they were to get.
Martin went the distance for the win despite giving up a season-high 12 hits. She struck out three but walked just one while throwing 100 pitches, 71 for strikes.
“My approach was just like every other game. Mix up my pitches and throw hard. I knew they were going to hit the ball. The newspaper articles said they were a good-hitting team one-through-nine. But my defense backed me up. I trusted my team,” said Martin.
In addition to Tilton, Patterson tripled, doubled and singled and knocked in three runs, Kendrick had a triple and two singles and drove in two runs. Martin tripled and singled and knocked in two runs.
McLeod went 4-for-4 with a triple for Stearns, giving giving her seven hits and a walk in eight plate appearances between the Class D North final against Madawaska and Saturday’s game.
Farrington added two singles for Stearns.
“We got off to a slow start. We didn’t make a few plays on 50-50 balls and they capitalized,” said Stearns coach Nick Cullen. “You can’t get in a 9-1 hole against Richmond. It’s hard to get out of it.”