The Cape Elizabeth 9-10 year-old softball all-stars overcame blazing heat and an early deficit to stun Calais and win the state Little League softball title with a thrilling 8-7 victory Aug. 2.
Cape took advantage of several fielding miscues by Calais in the late innings to overcome a 6-2 first inning deficit to win the championship in Auburn.
The Calais All-Stars came out to a fast start, riding six consecutive singles against Cape pitcher Mollie Thibodeau in the first inning to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. Cape answered quickly, scoring two in the bottom of the inning, when Thibodeau led off with a single and Anna Goldstein followed with a walk. Both Thibodeau and Goldstein scored in the inning.
Calais added another run in the top of the second when leadoff hitter Madison McVicar walked and eventually scored. That would be all the offense for Calais however, as Thibodeau settled down and turned in a dominating pitching performance for the rest of the game. She pitched a complete game and struck out six and didn’t allow a base hit after the second inning.
Unfortunately for Cape, Calais pitcher Olivia Smith was equally as dominant in the early going, allowing just three hits in the first three innings.
However, Cape started to claw its way back into the game in the fourth inning. Entering the inning down 7-2, Cape took advantage of walks and fielding miscues to score three runs on just one hit to narrow the deficit.
First, Aubrey O’Mera walked, and took second base on a passed ball. After O’Mera’s walk, Alicia Davis also walked, advancing to second on a passed ball that also moved O’Mera to third. With two runners in scoring position, Michaela Pinette smacked an RBI single, scoffing O’Mera. Pinette advanced to second on a passed ball. A third passed ball brought Davis home, sliding under the tag of Calais catcher Taylorae Carter, a throwing error on the play also allowed Pinette to dash home just beating the tag at the plate.
Thiobedeau pitched an uneventful fifth inning, and in the bottom of the inning, Cape completed its championship comeback.
With Smith moving to third, Kaitlyn Cundiff came in to pitch for Calais. She was greeted by Cape’s Anna Goldstein, who led off the bottom of the fifth with a solid double. She was followed by Sydney Wight, who slammed a long triple, which easily brought home Goldstein with Cape’s sixth run.
Mary Perkins kept the offense going for Cape with a bloop single, she would eventually move to second on a wild pitch. Emma O’Rourke tied the game when she hit a sacrifice grounder, scoring Wight. During the play, the ball got loose, and an alert Perkins came charging home, scoring what would prove to be the winning run.
With Calais down to its final at-bat, Thibodeau settled down and got the first two batters to ground out. Thibodeau ended the game and secured the championship when she snagged a sharp liner right back to the mound, sparking off a championship celebration and a victory lap for Cape.
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