BREWER — With a couple of runs and some great escapes in the first two innings, the Telstar softball team had reason to be optimistic Saturday.
The Rebels were up early on Bucksport and kept the Bucks off the board after battling through a pair of threats.
Telstar, however, couldn’t keep the Bucks at bay for long. Bucksport finally burst through for the lead in the third and then broke the game open in the fourth in a 9-4 Class C state championship win at Coffin Field in Brewer.
“It just wasn’t our day today,” Telstar coach Jim Lunney said. “We played like this at Hall-Dale and got spanked, and they spanked us a little bit today. To my kids’ credit, they went down swinging the bat. We got three hits in the last inning. We were battling. So I was pleased.”
The win gives the Bucks a third title in the past four years. Bucksport produced 16 hits and had no errors Saturday. Though Telstar produced 11 hits, the Rebels also had four errors — enough to help the Bucks seize control of the game.
“The defense wasn’t there today,” Lunney said. “Olivia (York) was a little bit off today. She was behind too many batters. We didn’t defend for her today.”
Telstar got three hits and an RBI from Tehya Johnson and two hits each from Ashley Savage and Becca Howard. The Rebels took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and third innings, but the Telstar defense wasn’t able to hold it.
“We really didn’t play that well,” York, a junior pitcher, said. “I wasn’t at my best. I was a little disappointed in myself. I could tell when my warmup wasn’t going how I wanted it to.”
York battled and gutted out the first two innings as Bucksport had four hits and stranded five runners. Eventually, the Bucks started getting the offense going. Bucksport not only started hitting gaps but also were helped by shaky defensive play by the Rebels. Four errors in the fourth inning allowed for four Bucksport runs that opened a 7-2 lead.
“We were leaving a lot of people on but eventually I knew we would break it loose,” Bucksport coach Mike Carrier said. “We had people in scoring position every inning. It was tough but it was a matter of not getting flustered. We just had to keep doing what we do.”
Kim Nason and Tyler Dupont each had three hits and drove in two runs. Julia Zavalza, Makenzie Smith and Sami Goode each had three hits and an RBI. Bucksport’s bottom of the order (Goode, Nason and Smith respectively) finished with nine hits and four RBI.
“They were a strong hitting team,” York said. “The top of their order did well bunting, and the bottom of their order did well hitting.”
Goode also pitched her team to a 17th straight win, striking out eight and walking just one.
Like it did in the regional final against Madison, Telstar (17-3) scored in the first inning and took a 1-0 lead. Savage led off with a single. Becca Howard and Johnson also singled to load the bases. A fielder’s choice on a hit by Haley Peterson made it 1-0.
Bucksport (19-1) threatened in the bottom of the first but stranded a pair. After Telstar went down in order in the second, the Bucks loaded the bases but failed to score. Peterson made a nice running catch in shallow center for the final out.
Despite the two shutout innings, Bucksport was knocking on the door, and Telstar was feeling the heat. York was throwing a number of pitches early.
“It was tough,” York said of the pressure early on. “It was something we needed to work through. Our fielding was a little off. We had errors. Pitching-wise, it was rough getting it in there.”
Telstar made it 2-0 in the third. Savage led off with a single. She scored when a Johnson pop in the infield dropped between three different fielders.
Bucksport finally broke through in the bottom of the third. The Bucks scored three runs to take the lead. All three runs came with two outs with the bottom of the order doing the damage.
Goode drilled a single off third base that plated the first run. Then Nason followed with a single up the middle. Smith’s RBI single gave the Bucks the lead for good.
“It was kind of hazy but we knew eventually we would come through,” said Nason, a senior captain, who was a sophomore when the Bucks beat Madison for the state title. “That’s what we do. We’ll be hazy for a few innings and then we came through strong.”
Things only got worse for the Rebels in the fourth. The Bucks produced three hits and were aided by the four errors as Bucksport broke the lead open. Dupont singled in a run. Zavalza scored on an error on a Emily Hunt grounder. After a Madysen Robichaud infield hit made it 6-2, Nason had a sacrifice fly that scored Hunt. A Johnson throw from left nearly caught Hunt at the plate, but she slid in to beat the tag.
“They put the pressure on,” Lunney said. “They had that inning where they put the ball where we weren’t. Then they hit it and we bumbled a couple of them. We hit well enough to compete, but we didn’t field well enough to compete.”
The momentum of the game quickly turned and the Rebels were trying to regroup. Telstar looked frustrated and stunned as the tide turned.
“Once they got the lead, it was like ‘Let’s get back’, but once they got more runs, it was like ‘Let’s go out and play for fun. It’s the last game the seniors will play. So Let’s do it and do it well.'” said senior catcher Sadie Ellsworth.
Bucksport made it 9-2 in the fifth. Zavalza doubled in a run and Dupont followed with an RBI single. Telstar chipped away at the lead. Dharma Damon had a pinch-hit single in the sixth that scored York. Then in the seventh, Telstar got three hits and a Johnson RBI.
Bucksport has just two seniors while the Rebels had four seniors and return nine juniors next year.
“It’s a stepping stone,” Lunney said. “We hope to be somewhere in the area next year. I’m very pleased and proud of what we did. Today just wasn’t our day. We didn’t play well.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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