Lady Warriors claim ‘D’ runner-up trophy

PROUD – The SACS Lady Warriors, from left, Rochelle Nadeau, Evangeline Goodall and Olivia Raymond proudly hoist up the Class D runner-up trophy from last Wednesday’s Eastern Maine championship game.
By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    When Southern Aroostook’s starting pitcher Evangeline Goodall headed to center field to start the fourth, trailing 6-4, most teams would have a tendency to fold. Instead, reliever Rochelle Nadeau settled in to lead her team to an exciting finish.
    “There was a lot of pressure,” said Nadeau of the game. “It was very stressful, but we knew what it was like to go to a championship and that’s really all we had to go by.”
    The Lady Warriors claimed the Eastern Maine Class D runner-up trophy last Wednesday night at Coffin Field, with a 9-7 loss to No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington.
    “They never gave up,” said SACS coach Rob Betschner. “We have a habit of giving up more runs [than we should], and we knew we had to play defense, but we didn’t do it well enough to pull it out.”
    Drawing back-to-back leadoff walks, a one-out double off the third base bag by Britnie Jones and Erika Hutchins’ two-run infield hit that grazed off Goodall’s glove, put the Mariners on top 3-0 to open the game.
SAFE – SACS’ Liz Goodall slides safely into third base during the EM Class D regional final in Brewer.
    The Lady Warriors responded for a 4-3 lead, as Kaitlyn Sommers’ triple to right sparked a Lady Warriors’ second-inning rally. Shelby Hartin followed with an RBI-single to right-center. With one out, Bre Bubar grounded a single up the middle. Then, Jasmine Rockwell delivered a run-scoring double. Nadeau banged the ball over the center fielder’s head to bring in Bubar. But, as Nadeau tried to stretch the hit, she was thrown out at third to end the inning.
    The Mariners’ Jones singled through the left side of the infield and after loading the bases with two straight walks, Chelsea Brown knocked in a run on a groundout to second. Heidi Brewer sent a single through the left side of the infield and Goldie Garcia’s RBI-single to right gave the Mariners a 6-4 lead.
    To start the fourth, the Lady Warriors made a pitching change, as Goodall’s arm was hurt bringing in reliever Nadeau.
    “I pitch off and on,” said Nadeau. “Vang is our main pitcher, I come in if her arm is sore. She told me to go warm up, and I am glad she did because I wasn’t expecting to go in.”
LEADS – Shelby Hartin of Southern Aroostook gets a lead off first base during last week’s Class D regional game.
    Nadeau said throwing that first pitch was “exhilarating.”
    “I wanted to keep my team up and I think I did a pretty good job at it,” she added.
    Though Betschner agreed Nadeau hadn’t pitched a lot, he was pleased with her performance.
    “If she gets on her game, she can pitch well,” he said. “She did an excellent job coming into an Eastern Maine game. She likes a challenge. With her you have to challenge her and you get the best out of her that way.”
    Deer Isle-Stonington reached Nadeau for two more runs after Janelle Ciomei drew a one-out walk and Jones singled. Both runners scored on Ouzts’ single to center. They added their final run in the sixth when
Ciomei singled, stole second and scored on Hutchin’s pop-fly single behind second, as the ball landed in the center of three converging SACS defenders.
REACHING – Southern Aroostook’s second baseman Jasmine Rockwell reaches for a ball thrown high, as a Mariner runner slides into the base.
    With a never-die attitude, the Lady Warriors Liz Goodall and Sommers started the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles. An infield error put Hartin on base and Olivia Raymond’s RBI-single over second base would be all of SACS’ scoring, as Ouzts retired the next three batters on two strikeouts and a groundout.
    In the bottom of the seventh, Liz Goodall reached Ouzts for a two-out single, but that would be all for the Lady Warriors, who end their season at 14-3.
    “This is two Eastern Maine’s in five years,” said Betschner. “What more could you ask for.”
PLAYS THE BALL – Southern Aroostook’s Kaitlyn Sommers chases down the ball, as a Mariner runner sprints toward third base during last Wednesday’s EM championship game in Brewer.
    The Lady Warriors will look at a building year next season, as they lose seven seniors — Nadeau, Kim Pratt, Hollie Ireland, Nicole Rondeau, Breianna Bubar and the battery of Evangeline and Liz Goodall.
    For the Goodalls, who have played soccer, basketball and softball together, it was the closing, yet a beginning.
    “I will miss it,” said Liz Goodall of sports at SACS.
    “We’ve been together and won two state championships and soccer and we made it to an Eastern Maine final in softball, you can’t ask for anything more,” said twin sister Evangeline Goodall.
    But, the Goodalls will begin their collegiate careers with soccer at Thomas College in the fall.
    “We get to play with each other still,” Liz Goodall said.
WINDS UP – SACS senior Evangeline Goodall winds up to send the ball toward home plate during the EM championship game. Goodall left the game in the fourth inning with a sore arm and was relieved by Rochelle Nadeau, who finished the game strong.