Softball
Oak Hill 0
Cape Elizabeth 5
Cape Elizabeth’s Jackie Moran pitched a no-hitter Tuesday against Oak Hill. It’s safe to say she’ll pitch again.
“I am fairly superstitious,” her coach, Joe Henrikson, said. “I think that’s just my competitive nature. If I do something and we win, I keep doing it.”
Moran’s no-hit performance came in the Western Maine Class B semifinals, as the Capers won, 5-0. The junior right-hander pitched nine innings the day before, as Cape defeated Fryburg Academy, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.
Henrikson’s decision to pitch Moran every game may be a little too obvious to be considered a superstition – she’s now 16-2 on the season, after all. However, the coach also pays attention to the shirt he wears, the parking spot he uses and the person who hands in the lineup card on game days.
Cape Elizabeth, the No. 1 seed, was scheduled to face No. 4 Greely in the Western Maine finals on Wednesday. The winner advances to the state final Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Brewer.
While Henrikson may need to alter his superstitious ways against the Rangers – Cape’s only two losses were to Greely – his starting pitcher will be the same.
In her no-hitter Tuesday, Moran got off to a perfect start. She struck out all three Oak Hill batters she faced in the first inning, using a dozen pitches, 10 of them strikes.
The top of the second was only slightly more difficult, as Moran walked two batters; however, all three outs again came via the “K.”
“They’re No. 4, so I thought they’d be good hitters,” Moran said. “I think I threw harder than I usually do, which felt good. They couldn’t time me.”
The top of the third inning was more of the same. Moran struck out the first batter and got the second to fly out to second base – the first ball the Black Raiders were able to put in play. Moran reverted back to the strikeout to get the third out.
After three innings, all but one of Oak Hill’s 12 outs were by strikeout.
Cape gave its pitcher all the runs she needed in the bottom of the third. Lisa Wolamski singled to left field and Marla Houghton drove her in with a one-out triple to right.
Wolamski then scored on a single up the middle by Colleen Martin, followed by Moran helping her own cause, hitting a two out single to center that drove in Martin. That run gave Cape a 3-0 lead.
“I’m always nervous when we only have two runs,” Moran said. “I know a walk is usually a run, so I have to make sure to keep the walks low. Having three or so runs makes me feel better, keeps me at ease.”
Moran ended the fourth inning with yet another strikeout, and she struck out the side in the fifth. With one out in the sixth, the Raiders hit the ball out of the infield for the first and only time, a fly out to right field. That inning ended with yet another strikeout.
Cape added two more runs in the sixth. Emily Richardson drove in Skye Jones – a courtesy runner for Moran who had singled – and Lauren Donovan drove in Richardson with a single to center.
With a 5-0 lead, Moran made quick work of Oak Hill in the seventh. A groundout, strikeout and pop out preserved the no-hitter and the win, moving Cape Elizabeth on to the Western Maine final.
Moran finished with 14 strikeouts and three walks. She also finished 3-for-3 at the plate, with three singles and an RBI. Houghton was 2-for-2 in the game with a single, triple and an RBI.
“Pitching and defense has been our strong point,” Henrikson said. “That’s what we’ve really been focusing on. We didn’t have all the weapons in the lineup contribute today, but we had enough.”
With Moran on the mound, “enough” doesn’t have to be that much.
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