Lady Panthers Bunt And Belt Way To Eastern Maine Class B Championship

Medomak Valley’s softball successfully defended their Eastern Maine Class B crown Tuesday night in Brewer, with a 4-1 win over Erskine Academy. The Eagles were a familiar foe, having beaten the Panthers 2-0 during the KVAC season.

The eighth seed Panthers thumped the Foxcroft Ponies 17-0 on June 10 in the preliminaries, then knocked off No. 1 Mattanawcook 4-3 in 11 innings on June 11, and No. 4 Bucksport 6-4 in eight innings on June 16 to advance to the championship game with Erskine.

Medomak will now take on West B champions (Gray NG or Fryeburg) for the State championship on Sat., June 20 at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

Medomak 4 – Erskine 1Kayla Vannah pitched a masterful game in the Eastern Maine Class B championship win over Erskine. Vannah struck out 11, walked none and gave up just one hit. Vannah said she went into the game pitching “to make them ground out. Then I told my Dad, I’m going right at them. The defense was amazing and the offense had some good hits,” Vannah said of the support she got from her Panther teammates.

Sam Morse took the loss for the Eagles (5K, 0B, 10H, 1HP).

Neither pitcher had a walk in the game. “Kayla had the smoothest game I’ve ever seen her pitch in a long time. She took authority out there on the mound and came out and got it down,” coach Glenn Barbour said.

Meryl Bond, of Jefferson, led off the 1st inning with a single to center field for Erskine’s only hit of the game. Bond stole second and scored from second when Kaci Hudson reached on a bunt and error to put the pressure on the Panthers early.

Vannah and Medomak’s defense played perfect over the next six innings, shutting Erskine down in order, three up and three down. The Panthers retired 20 straight batters. Kayla Santheson robbed Cathy Batchelder, of Whitefield, of a hit in the 4th inning. Freshman Mallory Conary made two put-outs at third, and Tessa Dodge four at second base in an amazing defensive display.

Medomak scored all four of their runs in the 5th inning. After stranding four base runners in the first four innings, the Panthers went to their short game in the 5th and bunted then belted their way to the Eastern Maine championship.

Vanessa Davis slashed a left handed bunt to right field, went to second on a passed ball, to third on a Conary bunt and scored the tying run on a Lindsay Ranquist sacrifice bunt. Kayla Vannah reached on a fielder’s choice bunt that saw Conary get caught in a pickle between third and home.

Conary dove head first into the plate to beat the throw and tag. The Panthers then turned to their power game with Rachel Keefe singling in Vannah, and Santheson doubling in Keefe to take a 4-1 lead.

“We had girls with two strikes bunting. They did what they had to do for the team. When it comes to the team, these girls will do anything,” Barbour said.

Barbour went on to say it has been a season-long process to get the girls thinking and acting as a team. “Finally in the last two weeks they came together as a team. I said all game we had to have nine batters today and had to get it down. That 5th inning we got it down,” Barbour added.

Hitting for Medomak were Santheson two doubles, Ranquist, Davis and Keefe with two singles each, and Benner and Conary a single each.

Seven players on the Erskine team are from Lincoln County, including Bond, Michaela Fortin and Carly Wilson of Jefferson, and Belinda Kirkpatrick, Danielle Burns, Batchelder and Monique Moore of Whitefield.