STANDISH — Nearly every hitter in the Telstar softball lineup trudged back to the dugout during the team’s first meeting with Madison this season.
The Rebels struck out 11 times, and only two hitters in the order avoided the sting of a strikeout in a 2-1 loss.
That was something the Rebels knew they had to correct if they saw the Bulldogs again.
“We’ve got to make them get 16 or 17 outs,” Telstar coach Jim Lunney said. “We had to put the ball in play.”
Though Madison’s Madeline Wood still managed to strike out seven batters in Wednesday’s Western C final, just about every member of the Rebels batting order also had a hit. This time, only two players didn’t reach base and Telstar produced 12 hits.
“My No. 8 hitter (Vanessa Godwin) and my No. 9 hitter (Katie Merrill) were putting the ball in play and got bunts down,” Lunney said. “(Godwin) had two hits. My pitcher got a bunt down with two strikes. That was huge. She got the girl to second, and she ended up scoring. We’ve gotten better with the bats.”
The offensive output Telstar displayed in Wednesday’s Western C championship is evidence of the progress the Rebels have made this spring. Telstar (17-2) has steadily improved in all facets of the game and was executing like a title team in the 8-3 win over Madison.
“I think we just have faith in each other,” Merrill, a senior outfielder, said. “We just believed in what each player is capable of and we trust that.”
Telstar was among the favorites in Western C to start the season. The Rebels only lost a couple of veterans and returned most of last year’s club that challenged Madison in the semifinals. The Bulldogs went on to win the Class C state title. Both Madison and Hall-Dale had veteran teams, as well. Getting past either team wasn’t going to be easy.
As it turned out, Telstar eliminated each of them in the playoffs, and now the Rebels will play for a seventh state championship Saturday in Brewer against Bucksport.
“I had faith in us that we could go all the way,” said Merrill, a three-year starter. “I’m so proud of our team right now.”
The Rebels are relatively young — Sadie Ellsworth, Annie Cushman, Godwin and Merrill are the only seniors. On paper, the Rebels began the season with title aspirations.
On the field, Telstar had work to do.
The Rebels made eight errors in a loss to Hall-Dale, and then lost to Madison, 2-1. An error led to the winning run scoring.
“As a senior, we all wanted to get here,” Godwin said. “It would have been our first time getting this far. We wanted to get here from the start.
We get frustrated at points, but every team does,” Godwin added. “Everyone takes a breath. Then we all just come back and focus on what we need to do.”
Telstar fell behind against Hall-Dale before rallying to win in a West C semifinal. The Rebels survived a final inning in which the Bulldogs had the tying run at third with two outs.
Madison got within one at 3-2 in the regional final, but Telstar settled down and pulled away.
“We had a big crowd,” Godwin said. “Every game our crowd gets bigger. That’s where our confidence comes from. All of us together, we work as a team, and they’re part of our team.”
The Telstar faithful erupted with each great play the Rebels made and everyone in the lineup contributed to a stunning win over 17-2 favorite Madison.
“We worked hard every game and kept improving,” Merrill said. “It’s just really been about believing in each other.”
The pitching and defense came around first. Junior Olivia York established herself as a steady ace and is now a formidable hurler. She held Madison to just three hits in the regional final.
“She doesn’t let up many runs,” Lunney said. “In 14 games, it’s been three runs or less. That’s phenomenal.”
The defense has made some great plays in the postseason. The outfield of Tehya Johnson, Hayley Peterson and Merrill chased down just about everything in sight against Madison. Despite a few errors, the infield has also been reliable. Ellsworth has thrown out runners stealing. Godwin made a crucial save on a low throw against Madison. Becca Howard at short and Ashley Savage at third have made sparkling plays in the tourney.
“Our defense started out strong,” York said. “Our defense has been everything. They do so much.”
Between great execution by York in the circle and on defense behind her, the offense made it complete with the confidence players are demonstrating with the bats. The Rebels have been tentative at times this season but have shown some aggressiveness of late.
“Lyndsay and Kayla Merrill have been helping us out a lot,” Johnson said of the two former Telstar standouts who won back-to-back state titles with the Rebels. “Having them help us has helped a lot. They’ve helped me, and I know they’ve helped everyone build their confidence. So we just came in all confident and put the ball in play and did our jobs.”
The Rebels’ next stop is Coffin Field in Brewer, the site of the team’s 2011’s state championship victory. Telstar plays a Bucksport team that has won three regional titles in the past four years. The Bucks won back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013.
It will be another sizable hurdle to clear, but the Rebels have pretty good spring in their step. They’re playing their best softball, and displaying the most confidence they have all year.
They’ve also made themselves part of Telstar’s rich championship history and hope to put an exclamation point on their legacy Saturday.
“It’s unbelievable,” Merrill said. “I can’t put into words how much this means to me. It’s just awesome to be here.”
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