The St. Dom’s softball team is beginning to look a lot like its old self.
Coming off a pair of impressive playoff wins, the Saints play in their fourth straight Western C final today at 3 p.m. in Gorham. St. Dom’s has won the last two, beating today’s opponent Sacopee Valley both times.
“It brings back that old feeling that we had last year in the playoffs and the year before,” said St. Dom’s third baseman Erica Dorso.
The No. 5 Saints (14-3) spent much of the season juggling the lineup. Veteran pitcher Audrey Pleau wanted to see less pitching time. Though Amanda Collette and Emily Goss did fine jobs on the mound, the Saints also lost shortstop Sarah Caron because of an illness, forcing even more position changes.
Though the talent was there, sometimes the results weren’t. In the last two games, though, the Saints looked tough to beat. They beat Dirigo 6-2 and Monmouth 1-0.
“It makes it nice to have your whole team,” said St. Dom’s coach Dan Samson. “Overall the team is gelling. It would have been a whole different season if we’d had this team from the start. They’ve started to look like the team they used to be.”
Collette is out for the remainder of the playoffs with an injury. That helped prompt Pleau’s return to the mound. Caron has returned to shortstop, and Goss has done well in the outfield in Pleau’s place. Pleau pitched a two-hitter against Dirigo and a one-hitter against Monmouth in her return, and the defense has been nearly flawless. Caron had the game-winning RBIs with a two-run homer against Dirigo.
“Now having Audrey back on the mound, I know since my freshman and sophomore years, she’s been on the mound,” said Dorso. “We have a lot of confidence in her.”
Of course, today’s opponent looks like the same Hawks that St. Dom’s has encountered the last three seasons. The Saints beat Sacopee Valley 5-0 and 6-0 in the last two championship games. Pleau pitched both shutouts.
“They’re our rivals,” said Dorso. “Naturally, we know what we’re up against. We know we have to play real well.”
The No. 2 Saints split with Sacopee (17-1) in the regular season. St. Dom’s won the second game 11-0, but that was without facing Hawks freshman ace Michelle Libby, who beat them in the first go-round. The last two finals were a battle of nerves until the Hawks flinched and the Saints took advantage of the mistakes. St. Dom’s doesn’t expect anything less today, and the Saints hope their experience comes in handy.
“This is our fourth year going to the regional final,” said Samson. “We’re confident going to the regional final and happy to be going to the regional final. We can feel comfortable, but we’re not cocky.”
In the Eastern Class A final at Coffin Field in Brewer, top-seeded and defending champion Leavitt (18-0) will meet No. 2 Brewer (15-3) at 7 p.m.
Leavitt’s home-field advantage with the top seed has taken a sudden turn.
“They’ll be the home team, but things will be different for them,” said Leavitt coach Pete Higgins. “They’ll be in the other dugout. It will be a little bit of a different look for them.”
Facing the Witches is a scenario that the Hornets might not have expected. After a tight 1-0 regular season win over Messalonskee and a close KVAC championship game that turned in the Eagles favor on an error-filled inning, the Hornets wouldn’t have been surprised to see a third meeting with their conference rivals.
“We were a little surprised,” said Higgins. “We kind of wanted to play Messalonskee again so we could settle the score. They beat us once, and we beat them once. They were probably looking forward to it too.”
Instead, the Hornets defend against a team that reached Messalonskee pitcher Clarice Pepper for seven runs and nine hits. The Eagles are the only common opponent for both teams. Brewer broke open a tight game with four runs in the second, all coming with two outs. Kate Hanlon, who had two hits in the game, Anna Corey, Sarah DeFilipp, Carolyn McAvoy and Kate Thomas all produced hits in that decisive inning.
DeFilipp, their sophomore pitcher, allowed six Messalonskee hits.
“They’ve got several good hitters on the club,” said Higgins. “They appear to be pretty solid defensively. I don’t think their pitcher is overpowering, but she’s got good control.”
Leavitt does have four starters back from last year’s state championship team in Kristen Healy, Laura Pratt, Sam St. Hilaire and Gretchen Conn. Beth Ellis, Alanna Leonard and Stephanie Healy have all stepped into the lineup and performed well.
It should make for a competitive title game.
“I think we’re going to match up well with them,” said Higgins. “We have four or five hitters that match up with them. Our pitching will match up with them.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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