Medomak Valley Panthers won the State Class B Softball championship with a 1-0 win over Hermon on Saturday, June 21. Team members are (front from left): Kiki Ames, Claudia Feeley, Kendall Wyman, Maddy Wilshire, Kytana Williamson, Kendall Simmons, and Peyton Eaton. Back: coach Richard Vannah, Rachel Barbour, Jennika Schumann, Sidney Nichols, Ivy McCollett, Molly Emerson, Arianna Sproul, Grace Townsend, Grace Havener, assistant coach Alyssa Creamer, and assistant coach Jacob Emerson. (Paula Roberts photo)
South Class B champions Medomak Valley High School (17-3) defeated North B champion Hermon (17-3) 1-0 at the University of Maine in Orono, to win the State Class B softball championship on Saturday, June 21. Third seed Medomak beat undefeated York 5-0 to win their seventh regional title to advance to the state championship game. Top seed Hermon beat Old Town for the North Regional crown.
“It was pretty overwhelming, pretty exciting,” MVHS coach Richard Vannah said. “The kids worked really hard. It really came together.”
The state title win was the second for MVHS, who won the Class A title in 1995.
Sophomore Sidney Nicholls pitched a masterful game to earn the shutout in a pitchers’ duel with Hermon’s Braelyn Wilcox. Nicholls struck out 12, walked one, and surrendered just three hits. Wilcox struck out eight (1HP, 6H).
Sidney (Nicholls) “was incredible. Nothing bothers her,” Vannah said. “She just bears down with runners on. She has poise beyond her years.”
Three times during the game, the Hermon Hawks had a runner at third but were unable to bring a run home.
“I just knew they couldn’t score because we were only up by one,” Nicholls said after the game. “I just stayed focused because I know getting nervous does not help any,” Nicholls said. “I just throw hard and make it easy for my team.
Nicholls said Medomak’s defense backed her up very well. Her catcher Arianna Sproul did not let a pitch get past her all game. “She has been great all year,” Nicholls said. “She has worked so hard all year.”
Medomak senior captain Kytana Williamson praised Nicholls’ performance and said she felt relaxed and confident with the sophomore on the mound.
“She was terrific all year,” Williamson said. “They had a few people on base a few times, but I never got nervous, because I knew she would strike them out or players would make plays. We have so much faith in Sidney,”
Both teams went down in order in the first inning. Medomak shortstop Ivy McCollett made an unbelievable catch in short left field to pick up the second out of the first inning and set the tone for the Panthers on defense;
Medomak went down in order in the second.
In the bottom of the second inning, Hawks lead off batter Mikelle Verrill reached on an error when two Medomak players collided going after a fly ball in the outfield. Verrill stole third, but was left stranded when Nicholls fanned the next three batters.
Grace Havener reached on a single in the top of the third inning, but was left hanging when Hawks pitcher Wilcox struck out the next two batters.
Nicholls fanned three straight Hermon batters in the bottom of the third inning.
Medomak threatened in the top of the fourth when Arianna Sproul hit a double. Kytana Williamson was hit by a pitch with two outs. Wilcox picked up the third out with a strikeout to stop the Panthers’ threat.
Hawk Addie Waning singled in the home half of the fourth, stole second, and advanced to third on a ground out. Medomak right fielder Peyton Eaton picked up the third out with a long running catch.
After four scoreless innings, Medomak scored the game winner in the top of the fifth. Lady Panther Kendall Simmons hit a lead-off triple down the right field line and scored on a Havener single. Havener moved over on a Nicholls sacrifice bunt and attempted to score on a passed ball, but was tagged out at the plate by Wilcox in a close play.
Hermon left two runners on in the fifth when Becca Balmas reached on a single and Hannah Waning on an error. Claudia Feeley caught a fly ball at first to get the Panthers out of the jam.
Feeley hit a single in the sixth, but was unable to advance.
The Hawks left base runners at second and third in the bottom of the sixth when Addy Waning walked and Verrill hit a double with one out. Williamson made a nice running catch in shallow center field to rob Wilcox of a hit and save a run from scoring. Nicholls fanned the next batter to preserve the shut out.
“She (Williamson) has done that all year long,” Vannah said. “She covers a lot of ground. She is an amazing athlete.” Williamson hit over .400 in her final season, after sitting out her junior year with an injury.
In the top of the seventh, Havener hit her third single of the game, but was left hanging.
Medomak Valley softball players swarm their pitcher Sidney Nichols on the mound after the Panthers won the State Class B championship with a 1-0 win over Hermon Saturday, June 21. (Paula Roberts photo)
In the bottom of the seventh, Nicholls fanned the first batter. Ivy McCollett threw the second batter out at first, and Nicholls finished the game with her 12th strikeout of the day.
Hitting for Medomak were Havener, with three singles; Simmons, a triple; Sproul, a double; and Feeley, a single.
Hitting for the Hawks were Verrill with a double, and Waning and Balmas a single each.
“I think it has not fully sunk in yet. We are still on a high,” Williamson said. “It means so much. It is such a good way to go out.”
When asked how Medomak players stayed so calm cool and collected, Williamson credited Nicholls again. “It comes from Sidney,” Williamson said. “I think just the way that she is, it transfers from her. We never show the fear we have on the inside because she is so dominant on the mound.”
