Old Town High School junior pitcher McKenna Smith has yet to give up a run in the Class B North softball playoffs.
Oceanside High School of Rockland/Thomaston senior first baseman Alexis Mazurek has pounded out five hits in two playoff games including a walkoff home run against archrival Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.
She has tied the school record for homers in a season with eight and one of her regular-season blasts was a game-winner.
The two will face each other Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the regional final at Coffin Field in Brewer.
Mazurek has been a four-year starter for coach Rusty Worcester’s Mariners and she has had a memorable senior year. She is hitting over .500 and leads the team in RBIs with more than 30.
Worcester said her offensive prowess in softball can be attributed to a “short, quick, compact swing. And she goes with the pitch.”
It isn’t surprising that she is an outstanding athlete, given her bloodlines.
Her grandfather, Ed, played football for the NFL’s New York Giants after playing college ball for Xavier of Ohio. He also played on Little League World Series and Babe Ruth World Series championship baseball teams in Stamford, Connecticut.
Ed Mazurek eventually made his way to Rockland and coached the Rockland High School football team.
Alexis’s dad, Rich, led Rockland to a state Class B baseball title in 1989 and two Eastern Maine basketball titles before scoring over 1,500 points at Husson University in Bangor.
“My grandfather and my dad have taught me what being an athlete is all about,” Alexis said. “You have to put in the work to get the results. You have to strive for greatness all the time. You can’t hold back.”
Being the leader of a young team, Mazurek put added pressure on herself during preseason.
“I was swinging for the fences in our preseason games and that was really bad for me. I didn’t perform well,” said Mazurek, a first-team all-Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference first baseman. “But the first game of the season came around, and I realized I had to relax and just try to get a base hit every time.
She called her eighth-inning playoff homer against Medomak Valley “incredible.”
Medomak Valley had upset Oceanside 4-3 in the quarterfinals a year ago when the Mariners were undefeated during the regular season.
Mazurek is proud of this team, which comprises four seniors, a junior and six sophomores.
“It’s a really young team but everyone works really hard and everybody is super competitive. Everybody wants to win. It’s a really well-rounded team,” Mazurek said.
Standing in the way of a regional championship are Smith and the Coyotes.
Smith has pitched back-to-back, two-hit shutouts against Winslow (2-0) and Hermon (7-0) with a combined 23 strikeouts.
During the regular season, she was 9-1 with an 0.92 earned run average. She struck out 128 in 61 innings and allowed only 24 hits. She walked 23.
Smith has only been pitching for five years.
“I started playing when I was in fifth grade and I was a catcher,” Smith said. “In the summer before my seventh-grade year, they told me I was pretty tall and really long and limber for my age and suggested that I try pitching.
“They thought I would be good at it. I really liked it,” said Smith, who was the Penobscot Valley Conference Class B Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year.
She had a respectable sophomore season, but freshman Olivia Albert emerged and won all the playoff games as the Coyotes captured the state title. Smith played a valuable role as their standout defensive center fielder and as a productive hitter.
This spring, Smith has been the go-to pitcher in the playoffs and Albert is the shortstop. Albert (5-1, 1.59 ERA) threw 44 innings during the regular season.
One of the keys to Smith’s success has been her composure in the circle. Last year, if she gave up a home run or some runs, she would get upset.
“And I’d end up making more mistakes,” Smith, who shrugs it off this season and concentrates on the next hitter, said.
“It has to do with maturing as a junior,” said Hermon High School senior catcher Hailey Perry. “She has gotten so much better from last year to this year. Props to her. I know she works hard in the offseason,” Perry said. “And she’s a good person on the field and off the field.”
Smith credits pitching coach Rick Roberts with her development. She pitches with him every Sunday and will sometimes fit in some extra time, too.
“He has been awesome. He has especially taught me about the mental aspect. He’s an incredible teacher,” Smith said.
She also noted that “my fastball is up 3 to 4 mph this year, and my control has gotten better because I’m pitching more often.”
Smith goes right after hitters, she doesn’t nibble the corners.
“I’m always ready to attack and do what I know I can do,” said Smith, who mentioned that her father, Corey, has played an important role in her success.
“He’s very supportive as is my mom [Denise]. I think my dad loves softball more than I do sometimes,” she quipped.
Smith knows that Oceanside will provide a stiff challenge as the teams met during the preseason.
The Mariners have an outstanding pitcher in sophomore Chloe Jones, who has struck out 25 and allowed eight hits in two playoff wins. She has an ERA under 1.00 and has struck out over 190 hitters on the year.
“She has a great changeup,” Smith said.