BETHEL – Jim Lunney likes to tell his softball team about the days when teams feared playing the Telstar Rebels.
Some of the players even recall the glory days of Telstar softball, winning the state title in 1991 and two regional final appearances in three years.
“Stacey Kangas (was the pitcher), I remember that,” said freshman catcher Liz Rosenberg. “That’s been our hope and dream since fourth grade.”
It has been a decade since the Rebels were the team to beat in the MVC and one of the favorites in Western C, but those times may be back. Telstar has already gone 10-1 this season and is flirting with the top seeding in Western C. Its only loss came in the season opener to Dirigo, and the Rebels have beaten the rest of the field in impressive fashion.
“They’re feeling good,” said Lunney. “Last year, we had two scrimmages at the beginning of the year. Fryeburg beat us 50-2, and Poland beat us 48 to one or two. It was like, ‘Wow’. The year was tough. This year we beat Poland, and they’re a decent team.”
One of the biggest reasons for the Rebels’ resurgence is a group of freshmen who have stepped up to the varsity and made a huge difference.
“They’re players,” said Lunney. “Those freshmen are going to be fun to watch.”
Jillian Kimball, Jessie Farrington, Tiffany Jordan, Rosenberg and Kayla Mills have been key additions to a Telstar team that went just 3-11 last year. Joining veterans like all-stars Lauren Hart and Ashley Stambolis, former MVC all-rookie team players Krystle Gould and Meagan Lunney, the Rebels fortunes were bound to rise this season.
“They’re not intimidated,” said Lunney. “They’ll swing the bats. They’ve played a lot of softball and played summer softball for three or four years. So the idea of this summer ball is catching up to us.”
Kimball and Farrington give Telstar two new but talented pitchers. Kimball has seen most of the duty while Farrington has established herself as a standout shortstop with a mighty arm. Upgrading the pitching has been critical to Telstar’s turnaround.
“The pitching is the biggest thing,” said Lunney. “Last year, we were walking 11, 12, 13 14 batters a game. It puts the defense to sleep. It’s hard to play in a flow. When you throw strikes, everybody’s ready to play defense because you know they’re going to hit the ball.”
Lunney expected Kimball and Farrington to make the varsity, but Jordan, Rosenberg and Mills have been pleasant surprises, forcing their way into the lineup with their stellar play.
“We knew the two pitchers were going to be on the varsity, and we thought that would be it,” said Lunney. “Tiffany, I thought would be one year on the JV to give her a little confidence. Liz, I had two catchers ahead of her. As we started scrimmaging, Tiffany was a whirlwind. She likes to bunt, likes to run, goes from first to third. I told the JV coach that ‘Tiffany’s with me’. Two games later, Liz was just a workhorse. She’s scrappy. She’s tough around the plate. She’s a tough (No.) nine hitter. I told him, ‘You don’t have Liz either.'”
Four of the freshman are starting: Rosenberg behind the plate and Jordan in right. Mills splits her time between the JV and varsity but has proven to be a fine hitter and has provided depth in the infield and as a pinch-runner.
“It’s exciting,” said Kimball. “We’re fearless. There’s nothing to lose when you’re a freshman.”
The team has a half dozen upperclassmen, but the varying degrees of age and experience has gelled nicely.
“We’re really close,” said Rosenberg. “A lot of the players were on the basketball team. We learned how to get along. The seniors and freshmen are even getting along. The seniors are treating us great. We all just play wonderfully together.”
Though Telstar won a prelim game by forfeit last year and advanced to a divisional quarterfinal, the Rebels have been to the semifinals just once, in 1997, since losing in the regional final in 1993. They haven’t been No. 1 since 1993 and haven’t had a home playoff game since 1997.
Though the club expected to improve upon last year, this kind of success is more than they asked for.
“We were hoping to be in the playoffs,” said Kimball. “We figured we’d give some teams, or most of the teams, a hard time. We only won three games last year, but once we beat big teams like Monmouth, we knew what we could do.”
In addition to the pitching, the defense is solid and the Rebels have a balanced and deep hitting team. With the influx of fresh faces and talent, the Rebels have new lease on life and their confidence is soaring as the playoffs draw near.
“It’s nice to be in the thick of it,” said Lunney, who returned to the program last year after a brief retirement. “I told the kids I want to play seven innings — no more mercy games. I want to finish our games. We took our lumps last year, and I’m happy for the juniors and seniors now.
“Last year we made the playoffs and this year we want to get to the playoffs and have people say ‘We don’t want to play Telstar.'”
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