When Jim Lunney’s unbeaten Telstar team lost for the first time this season, he eased the Rebels frustration with a choice.
“Which game do you want to lose?” he asked his team. “This one or one later on down the road?'”
That proved to be the only loss for Telstar so far. According to the final Heal Point standings released Friday, the Rebels claimed the top seed in Western C and the defending Class C state champs are poised for another title run.
“We’re in a position where we want to be,” said Lunney. “We wanted to comeback and be one or two. They had a good year. We had a little bump in the road against Dirigo. Like anything else, you’re only as good as you play that day. We didn’t play as well as we should have that day.”
That’s a lesson the Rebels take into Monday’s Mountain Valley Conference Championship game and the Western C tourney ahead. Telstar faces Georges Valley Monday at 5 at the University of Maine at Farmington. The second-seeded Bucs went 14-0 and are the defending MVC champs.
“We returned six starters from last year,” said Lunney, whose team lost to Georges Valley in the MVC game but won in the regional final. “They were great kids and good softball players. Obviously, Kayla and Lyndsay Merrill were a key for us. Kayla had another outstanding year. She was 14-1 with nine shutouts, three no-hitters. Her strikeout- to-walk ratio was like 16-1. She just dominated.”
The Rebels also had returning starters Katie Sumner, Nicena Walker, Hannah Morin and Tasha Farnum. Players like Autumn Berry, Kallie Brown and Sarah Averill stepped into starting roles and did nicely.
“Other kids filled in very well,” said Lunney. “Our No. 6, 7, 8 and 9 hitters chipped in in certain situations. Lyndsay Merrill moved to the lead-off spot and led the team in RBIs. Who’s she driving in? The 7, 8 and 9 hitters. They all played well.”
Jay took the third seed at 13-2. Both losses came against Telstar. Monmouth (11-3) earned the fourth seed. Madison (10-6) was fifth followed by Dirigo (8-7) and St. Dom’s (9-6).
Sacopee Valley (12-4) will host Mt. Abram (6-8) next week in a prelim game. The winner will play at Telstar.
“There are some good teams out there,” said Lunney. “Jay’s a strong team. Monmouth has a good pitcher. Sacopee is known for coming in from the other league. Madison has a good pitcher, and Dirigo beat us. If they’re playing well enough and can hold us down to one run, they can hold anyone down to one run. So there are other teams out there.”
In Eastern A, Oxford Hills finished sixth overall after going 11-5. The Vikings lost three of its last five games and will play at Cony. The Rams finished third behind Brewer and Messalonskee respectively. The Vikings lost to Cony twice in the regular season, 10-9 and 6-4.
Edward Little got the eighth seed at 9-7. The Red Eddies will play a quarterfinal at top-ranked Brewer, where EL lost 4-0 earlier in the year.
In Western B, Oak Hill is excited about the tourney to come. The Raiders finished third at 12-4 and will host sixth-seeded Cape (10-6) in the quarterfinals.
“We have a history with Cape,” said Oak Hill coach Julie Boucher. “This will be the third time in four years that we’ve played them, and the past two times were at their place. So we’re very anxious for them to come to our house.”
The Raiders lost those two tourney games at Cape and lost to Gray-New Gloucester in the quarterfinal last year. The Raiders finished the season winning six of their last seven games.
“I’m very pleased with how the season ended,” said Boucher. “Obviously, I wish we could have taken the last game with Maranacook, but we played hard. We had a really great season. I was very optimistic to begin with. So we’re exactly where we want to be.”
Oak Hill has much of its lineup back from last year, including regulars Alyssa Rouleau, Katie Wood, Taylor Fillion, Lauren Hall, Kortni Michaud, Becca Tucci, Alexis Priest and Marrissa Caskin.
“We have veteran players,” said Boucher. “Defense has been solid all year. The past few games we’ve been playing really well defensively. We’ve had a solid lineup going. I looked at our stats, and we have some pretty decent batting averages – a lot in the .400’s, which is good to see. I have a lot more confidence in my defense than I have in the past. So I’m very optimistic as far as our journey goes.”
In Western D, Richmond went unbeaten and claimed the top seed at 15-0. Greenville finished second at 11-3. Buckfield finished third at 10-4 and will have to play at Greenville. The Bucks lost to the Lakers twice 10-5 and 11-10.
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