Cheverus freshman Addison DeRoche pitched six no-hitters this season and rarely allowed opponents to put the ball in play, recording 212 strikeouts in 87 innings. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
It was just a bullpen session during a March practice, and it was indoors and away from spectators.
But even then, Addison DeRoche had an audience.
“When she really started throwing her bullpens, it was really neat to see our players just kind of huddle around her while she was pitching,” Cheverus Coach John Eisenhart said. “Just the looks on our players’ faces when they saw her throw, they were dazzled. … You don’t often see that in high school sports.”
And Maine rarely ever sees a player like DeRoche. The freshman who came in with a wave of travel ball hype went on to exceed the expectations, dominating Class A while leading the Stags to their first state championship. She went 12-1, posted a 0.08 ERA and struck out 212 batters in 87 innings. At the plate, she hit .469 with four home runs, and drove in 27 runs.
For her performance, DeRoche is our choice as the Varsity Maine Player of the Year in softball.
“It’s very, very impressive to say the least, and almost scary when you look ahead at the next three years,” South Portland Coach Drew DiMauro said. “She only gave up one (earned) run this year, I don’t know if she’ll ever give up another one.”
Cheverus pitcher Addison DeRoche reacts after striking out a Windham batter earlier in the season. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
DeRoche turned in performances that went beyond the stats. She twirled six no-hitters, defeated defending champion Windham with a 10-inning, 23-strikeout opus in the A South final, then shut down Oxford Hills in a 3-1 championship game victory, getting all 21 outs via strikeout.
“Our kids cheered like they won the World Series when they fouled a ball off (against her),” Massabesic Coach Kevin Tutt said.
Coming into the season, DeRoche wasn’t focused on eye-popping stats or a string of no-hitters. She was looking forward to playing with new teammates, and being part of a school team after developing her skills on travel ball teams.
“It definitely was a learning process,” DeRoche said. “We all worked together at practice and came together and realized our goals, and it kind of went from there. We took it day by day and game by game, but then once it got to the postseason, you definitely got all the feels and the community aspect and how you want to win for your school.”
It was a learning process for her teammates, too, specifically the Cheverus catchers, who had to adjust to catching pitches that move perhaps more than any pitcher’s in the state. Backstops Anna Kennedy-Jensen, before an injury, and then Bella Napolitano Aberle figured it out and had success receiving DeRoche’s pitches, but it took some time.
“Her movement is insane,” Napolitano Aberle said. “It’s a different challenge. You have to catch her for a little bit to understand where it’s going to go. (When I) got thrown in to catch for her, it went right over my head.”
No one figured out how to hit DeRoche. Opponents batted .036 against her this spring.
Games were rarely close. But when they were, the Stags saw a fiery side to the soft-spoken ace.
“When the game’s in the balance, she’s not afraid to step up and say something,” Eisenhart said. “During the first Windham game … we weren’t competing the way that I expected them to, the way we had talked about, and she said ‘Come on guys, we’ve got to get to another level.’ … She wants to win.”
After former Yarmouth standout athlete Gibson Harnett died of cancer in January, Eisenhart wore a sweatshirt with Harnett’s Time To Compete foundation on it, and his players took the name and made it a rallying cry for the season. When DeRoche heard the story, she asked for everyone on the team to get sweatshirts as well, and Cheverus obliged.
“She loved the story, and I think she loved the theme of it,” Eisenhart said.
It showed. The bigger the games got, and the closer they got, the better she played.
“In the end, it’s important what our team does,” DeRoche said. “It’s cool to have good stats and stuff, but it really wasn’t my goal or important to me. If we could win on the mound and we could win at the plate, that means it’s a good day.”
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