GORHAM—Greatness lingered in the air Tuesday evening at the University of Southern Maine’s Husky softball field.
Greatness in the form of reigning state champion Windham, the top seed in Class A South, and its senior pitching star Brooke Gerry.
As well as in the form of the up-and-coming, second-ranked Cheverus Stags and their nonpareil freshman ace Addison DeRoche, who had already eclipsed her enormous preseason expectations.
And it all added up to the greatest softball game that those lucky enough to participate in, or witness, could remember.
And won’t ever forget.
It was an instant classic, one in which every pitch had those on hand holding their breath, and it resulted in a game that needed more than seven innings to decide.
Much more.
DeRoche and Gerry engaged in an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better battle of strikeouts the first five innings, combining for 23 Ks and just one hit allowed.
Cheverus, which had never even been to a regional final before, let alone win one, then got a great opportunity in the top of the sixth, as it loaded the bases with one out without hitting a ball out of the infield, but Gerry escaped by fanning junior catcher Bella Napolitano Aberle and junior first baseman Ashley Connor.
In the bottom half, the Eagles had their chance to strike, putting two on with two outs, but junior catcher Stella Jarvais lined out softly to Stags sophomore second baseman Anna Goodman to keep the game scoreless.
The game would stay 0-0 into the seventh, then the eighth and into the ninth, when Windham came oh-so-close to advancing, as a fly ball off the bat of senior designated hitter Jaydn Kimball with a runner at second was caught by Cheverus sophomore centerfielder Hailey Lamontagne on the warning track.
By rule, a runner was placed at second base to start the top of the 10th and the Stags took advantage, as with two outs, junior rightfielder Delia Tremble blooped a single into right to score sophomore third baseman Anna Kennedy-Jensen with the go-ahead run and senior shortstop Kelsey Cassidy followed with an RBI single for some insurance.
That was more than enough for the sensational DeRoche, Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year, who struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th, catching junior Lydia Marden looking at strike three to end the instant classic, 2-0, in Cheverus’ favor.
DeRoche threw a two-hitter, fanning a mindboggling 23 batters as the Stags not only avenged their lone loss, they improved to 18-1, ended Windham’s title reign and its terrific season at 18-1 and in the process, set up a state final showdown versus Oxford Hills (17-2) Saturday at 1 p.m., at Central Maine Community College in Auburn.
“It’s surreal,” Tremble said. “There’s no words to describe it. It’s everything I wished for. We knew it would be really close. We’ve been preparing. We just fought to the end.”
Almost no separation
Cheverus and Windham watched each other from afar since day one this spring and it soon became clear that they were the class of Class A South, as the reigning champion Eagles remained a cut above the rest and the Stags, riding a potent batting order and the pitching of DeRoche, quickly joined them (see sidebar for links to previous stories).
As scheduling fate would have it, the teams’ lone regular season showdown came in the finale, May 24, where host Windham finally proved that DeRoche was mortal in a 3-1 victory.
That win allowed the Eagles to finish first in the region and they rolled into the regional final after emphatic wins over No. 9 Kennebunk (10-0, in six-innings) in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Portland (8-0) in the semifinals.
Cheverus, meanwhile, eliminated No. 7 Massabesic, 3-0 (on a DeRoche no-hitter) in the quarterfinals, then ended the season of sixth-seeded Scarborough, 8-0 (on another DeRoche no-hitter), in the semifinals.
In the teams’ first meeting, Lamontagne drove in the Stags’ lone run and DeRoche struck out a dozen batters, but Gerry countered with 14 strikeouts, junior Kennedy Kimball’s home run gave Windham the lead and after junior Eva Harvie scored an insurance run, she made the catch of the year, robbing Connor of a bases clearing double, to preserve the win.
The teams had met just once before in the tournament, a 3-1 Eagles’ triumph in the 2005 Class A South preliminary round.
Tuesday, on a beautiful evening, which began in sunshine and 72 degrees and ended well after dark with a bit of a nip in the air, in front of a standing-room only crowd and then some (longtime USM athletic director Al Bean said it was easily the biggest gathering on record), scoring opportunities were few and far between, but ultimately, Cheverus found a way to score.
And advance.
Gerry began the game by catching Cassidy looking at a 3-2 pitch. DeRoche, normally the cleanup hitter, was next and struck out swinging, as did Lamontagne.
Gerry then led off the bottom of the first by going the other way and lining a single past Kennedy-Jensen at third. With sophomore shortstop Addie Caiazzo at the plate, Gerry tried to steal second, but Napolitano Aberle threw her out. Caiazzo then became the first of DeRoche’s strikeout victims, looking, before Jarvais popped out to short.
The Stags got their first baserunner when Gerry plunked Napolitano Aberle in the helmet with a 1-2 pitch. Sophomore Sadie Collins came on to run, but she couldn’t advance, as Gerry got Connor to bunt foul for strike three, fanned Kennedy-Jensen on a 3-2 pitch, then caught freshman leftfielder Abby Kelly looking at strike three.
In the bottom half, DeRoche struck out Jaydn Kimball on a 2-2 pitch, fanned Kennedy Kimball on a 3-2 offering, then caught sophomore second baseman Oakley McLeod looking at strike three.
Goodman led off the top of the third with the hardest hit ball of the game, as she went the other way and drove the ball deep to right, only to have Harvie run it down at the base of the wall. Tremble struck out swinging in her first at-bat, but Cassidy drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. DeRoche then worked the count full, but popped out to third to keep the game scoreless.
DeRoche produced her first traditional 1, 2, 3 inning in the bottom half, striking out sophomore centerfielder Nola Bryant and Harvie swinging before catching junior third baseman Chloe Edwards looking at strike three.
Gerry made quick work of Cheverus in the top of the fourth, fanning Lamontagne, getting Napolitano Aberle to pop to third, then inducing a ground out to second off the bat of Connor on the first pitch she saw.
Gerry then led off the bottom half with a hard bunt toward third that Kennedy-Jensen got to but couldn’t hold and Gerry was safe at first on the error. When a passed ball moved Gerry to second, the Eagles were in business, but DeRoche fanned Caiazzo on a 1-2 pitch, blew a 1-2 high fastball past Jarvais, then caught Jadyn Kimball looking at strike three.
Neither team caught a whiff of a rally in the fifth, as Gerry fanned Kennedy-Jensen, caught Kelly looking at strike three, then got Goodman to pop to first in the top half and DeRoche got Kennedy Kimball to fly to center before fanning McLeod and catching Bryant looking at strike three in the bottom of the frame.
Finally, in the top of the sixth, a true scoring threat developed, but it was ultimately snuffed out.
Gerry hit Tremble with a pitch leading off and Cassidy followed by laying a bunt down the first base line and beating it out for the Stags’ first hit. That brought up DeRoche in a position to do some damage, but Gerry struck her out on a 2-2 pitch.
“I would say I should have bunted in that situation, but you can’t hold your head,” DeRoche said. “It was still 0-0.”
Lamontagne then reached on an infield single to load the bases, but Gerry bore down and caught Napolitano Aberle flailing at a perfectly timed off-speed pitch before fanning Connor to escape the jam.
“We talked about managing our emotions,” Cheverus’ first-year coach John Eisenhart said. “The highs are really high in this game, but the lows can be really low. Give Brooke credit. She’s such a competitor. She made the pitches.”
In the bottom half, Harvie led off by striking out, then Edwards got ahead in the count 3-1 before ultimately striking out. Gerry then drew a walk on a close 3-2 pitch and Caiazzo followed with a little bloop single to left, just over the glove of Cassidy, to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Jarvais then made contact and hit the ball up the middle, but her soft liner was caught by Goodman for the third out.
The top of the seventh began with Collins striking out on a 2-2 pitch and Kelly chasing a 1-2 pitch to no avail. Goodman kept the inning alive by drawing a walk on a 3-1 offering, but Tremble struck out on three pitches, watching strike three.
The Eagles came to the plate with a chance to end it, but Jaydn Kimball chased strike three, Kennedy Kimball grounded out to short on a 3-2 pitch, with Connor making a nice scoop at first, before McLeod swung and missed at strike three, sending the game to extra innings.
Cassidy led off the top of the eighth with a ground out to second, then DeRoche gave a 3-1 pitch a ride to right-center, but Bryant ran it down. Lamontagne then popped out to third.
In the bottom half, junior Lydia Marden came on to pinch-hit and lined the ball hard the other way, down the third base line, but Kennedy-Jensen was there to snare it for the first out. DeRoche then fanned Harvie and caught Edwards looking at a 3-2 pitch.
The Stags went quietly in their half of the ninth, as Napolitano Aberle grounded out to first unassisted and Connor and Kennedy-Jensen each chased strike three.
In the bottom half, Gerry got ahead in the count 3-0 but DeRoche worked her way back full, then caught her opposite number looking at strike three. Caiazzo got hit on the shoulder with an 0-1 pitch to put the winning run on, but Jarvais watched strike three before Jaydn Kimball flew out deep to center.
That set the stage for the fateful top of the 10th.
Like it or not, the rulebook dictated that Cheverus started with a runner at second and Kennedy-Jensen did the honors. Kelly tried to bunt her over, but couldn’t do so and when her bunt attempt on a 3-2 count went foul, she was out by strikeout. Goodman then struck out looking on a 1-2 pitch, leaving the inning up to Tremble.
And Tremble was up to the occasion.
Windham had the outfield playing deep and it proved costly, as Tremble blooped an 0-1 pitch the opposite way to right and Harvie wasn’t able to come in and get to it, meaning Kennedy-Jensen was able to touch home with the game’s first run.
“I was just trying to get my bat on the ball,” said Tremble. “I tried to reach any pitch I could and not strike out. I knew it would be close. I had confidence it would drop. I was ecstatic when I got to first.
“Watching that happen was awesome,” said Cassidy, the on-deck hitter. “It was like a weight lifted off my chest and I could go out and do what I can do.”
“I love (Delia),” DeRoche said. “We switched her in the lineup and it worked out. The outfielder was playing back and it just dropped in.”
“Windham is just so good, so tough, so it was just a matter of who was going to get the big hit,” Eisenhart added. “I rearranged the order a little bit. Delia has been hitting second all year and did a fabulous job, but I felt like we needed something different in this game. I asked her to set the table. I didn’t ask her to get the game-winning hit. I’m so proud of her. She’s such a tough kid.”
On the play, Tremble moved to second and Cassidy came up huge on a 1-2 pitch, lining a sharp single up the middle, easily scoring Tremble to make it 2-0.
“Brooke’s a fantastic pitcher, but she was getting tired and she wasn’t hitting her spots as well as she could,” Cassidy said. “I saw a pitch down the middle and I went with it.”
“Kelsey did amazing,” Tremble said. “It was so important to get that second run.”
“When Kelsey got that hit, I felt like it would be tough for them to score three runs against Addison,” Eisenhart added.
DeRoche struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch, but she had the lead and took the mound for the bottom of the 10th, looking to close it out.
Sophomore Lacie Higgins went to second as the Eagles’ designated runner to start the frame, but she wouldn’t budge, as DeRoche battled back from down 2-0 to Kennedy Kimball to catch the dangerous slugger looking at a 2-2 pitch on the inside corner.
“Once I got behind, I just attacked her with my best stuff,” DeRoche said. “Once I got that first out, I was confident in my stuff and the team behind me.”
McLeod was next and she struck out looking as well. That left the game in the hands of Marden, who took a strike, swung and missed, fouled a pitch off, took a ball and then at 9:28 p.m., held up only to watch strike three, allowing Cheverus to rush the field and celebrate its 2-0 victory.
“I just ran to Bella and I saw all the people cheering,” said DeRoche. “I wanted to throw the last pitch as hard as I could to the best spot. It’s great it was a strike so I could celebrate with the team. It’s absolutely unbelievable. So much fun. We’re a close community. I’ve never played in front of a crowd this large and so into the game. It’s amazing to have school pride and play with my teammates. Every inning, we stayed the course. We had faith in each other. We left it all on the field.”
“It’s awesome,” Cassidy said. “We worked so hard to get here. We were all tired, but we powered through. It’s so amazing. Just knowing if we played our game we could win. We stayed up through highs and lows. I think last time gave us the edge we needed, a sense of revenge. We wanted it so badly and we wouldn’t have wanted it as much if we won that first game. We’ve been daydreaming about this since we lost to Windham. We knew it would come down to this and it’s everything we’ve been dreaming about.”
“It’s amazing for the program,” said Tremble. “Freshman year, we were at the bottom of the pile and we’ve been working our way up.”
“I can believe it, but I can’t believe it,” Eisenhart added. “I’m just really proud of the effort. Addison is the centerpiece of it, but our defense made great plays. I won (regional titles) at Greely and at Westbrook, but this one is special. Windham’s so good, so this incredible. We competed. I knew it would be like this and I thought we had a chance.
“At the beginning of the season, I might have thought 13-3, but we have great players. Beating Gorham was a big win. We played so well against Windham the first time. Driving over here today and thinking about what to say to the kids, it was going to be a successful season win or lose today because it’s the furthest the program’s ever been. It’s just an incredible feeling.”
DeRoche, who has been simply transcendent from the moment she stepped into the circle this spring, was otherworldly in the biggest game of her high school life to date, allowing just two hits, walking one, hitting one and fanning 23 while throwing 146 pitches.
“Warming up, I wasn’t spinning it that great, but once I got going, adrenaline and the heart that I have took over,” DeRoche said.
“Addison is phenomenal,” Cassidy said. “A lot of people doubted her because she hadn’t been in this situation yet. (Windham) had with a senior pitcher, but she came and just dominated.”
“Addison’s amazing,” said Tremble. “She does her job. We know when the ball gets put in play, we had to have her back. We did a good job limiting them.”
“You can’t say enough about what Addison did for us,” added Eisenhart. “She put us on her back on this stage in front of all these people. It was just an incredible atmosphere here for high school sports. Any one of these Windham hitters, especially in the middle of the order, could have run into a pitch, but she battled. She got tired and got down but battled back and made pitches when she needed to.”
The Stags got two hits and an RBI from Cassidy. Tremble scored once and drove in a run. Kennedy-Jensen also scored.
Cheverus left six runners on base.
Heads held high
Windham got another stellar effort from Gerry in her swan song, before she takes her act to the University of Rhode Island. Gerry allowed just two runs on four hits in 10 innings, walking two, hitting two and striking out 21.
“It was a great game, from the first pitch to the last,” said Gerry. “Any big game that I’m able to be a part of is so special to me, because softball really could be taken away at any point. Time is never promised and I’m very grateful I was able to be a part of that.”
“I think it showed two pitchers who have put everything into softball and that’s why they’re the best pitchers in the state of Maine, if not all of New England,” said Windham coach Darcey Gardiner.
The Eagles could only muster two hits and left four runners on, but left with their champion’s pride intact.
“What a night,” said Gardiner. “No knock on the North, but I truly believe these were the two best teams in the state of Maine who played tonight. Every single person in the crowd, which looked like well over 1,000, they got their money’s worth. I have two seniors who graduated this year. What a game for them to go out on. I know it’s not the ending they wanted, but what a softball game. You watched college softball last week when it was ending and this was just as good, if not better than some of those college softball games you saw on ESPN. You knew it would be a 0-0 ballgame. It’s all about timely hits. Hats off to them for getting those hits. I wish them the best of luck in states, that’s for sure.”
Gerry and Jaydn Kimball depart, but the rest of Windham’s roster returns and the Eagles are already gearing up for a rematch in 2025.
“I graduated two seniors and had 19 girls in the dugout, so for them to experience something like this, hey, we’ll see you again next year Cheverus. I can’t wait,” said Gardiner.
One final step
Cheverus had never played in a regional final, not to mention a state game, so there might be some nerves Saturday, but the Stags are seven innings from not only capturing a landmark championship, but capping a school year without peer for the school’s girls’ sports program after winning a field hockey title in the fall before capturing girls’ basketball and girls’ hockey crowns in the winter.
Cheverus, which didn’t face Oxford Hills this season, knows its job isn’t quite finished and it can’t wait to take the field one final time Saturday.
“We have to stay the course, play our game,” DeRoche said. “We just have to make sure we get the outs and the runs we need.”
“We just have to stay focused,” Cassidy said. “Winning a state title would mean everything for us. We never thought Cheverus softball would be where it is right now. There are a lot of people to thank for that. We just need to stay focused, do what we did to prepare for this game and if we do, it’ll be awesome.”
“We grew last year and we knew this year would be something special, but we didn’t know it would be this amazing,” said Tremble. “We’ll practice and focus on defense. We can’t wait to get back to it.”
“I’d like to see us hit a little better, which we certainly can, throw strikes and play great defense and just bring it,” added Eisenhart.
Press Herald staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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