Defending state champions.
That is the hard-earned designation the Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth High softball teams will wear onto the field each and every game this season. It’s an honor, but also a burden. With graduation taking a significant toll on both teams, a repeat performance will not be easy.
“It’s definitely a lot of added pressure,” said Cape senior Lauren Donovan, who helped the Capers to a 17-3 season and a 2-1 Class B state title win over Winslow a year ago. “We’ve lost six starters, so we’re going to have to work hard and fill those spots. But hopefully we’ll be able to pull through this year again.”
The Red Storm, too, will have plenty of new faces in the starting lineup. Four 2007 starters graduated and two others are playing new sports this spring. An important returnee is junior Catie Funk, who had an RBI and scored a run in Scarborough’s 2-0 Class A championship win over Skowhegan last season. She said 2007 – when the Red Storm finished a perfect 20-0 – would remain a special memory regardless of what happens this year.
“We’re going to start fresh,” Funk said. “What we had last year was a monumental season. No one can ever beat (the 20-0 record). They can only tie us.”
“Last year’s season was so unique,” said Scarborough senior Kira Gordon. “We went to Florida during the preseason and won all our games there. Then we came here and had a really, really strong regular season and it continued through the playoffs. We just had that momentum that kept going. The feeling of that season is completely unique to anything I’ve felt before and I’ve won state championships in track.”
The Red Storm’s storybook season depended largely on the arms of senior pitchers Kelsey Griffin and Caitlin LeBorgne, who were virtually unhittable as Scarborough allowed an average of less than one earned run a game.
“I certainly don’t expect this team to go undefeated,” said Scarborough coach Tom Griffin. “Our pitching is going to be very good, but the ball is going to be in play a lot more. We’re going to have to play defense, because we’re not going to get 13 or 14 strikeouts a game.”
The Capers do have their star pitcher returning. Tricia Thibodeau pitched a complete game in the state championship as a sophomore, allowing only four hits. Also returning is classmate and battery mate, junior catcher Colleen Martin. Martin smacked the game-winning two-run homer in the state championship (on a hit-and-run, nonetheless). Standout junior shortstop Emily Richardson is also back. It’s the other positions that have Cape coach Joe Henrikson a bit concerned. He said he will likely end up with at least two freshmen in the starting lineup.
“The new kids coming out are so green, they’re not even sure what base to throw it to,” Henrikson said. “We’ve got a long way to go. I like our chances if the kids come with a good attitude and work hard everyday and improve everyday. I like our chances because we’ve got a good pitcher and a good pitcher will keep you in every game.”
One element both the Capers and the Red Storm have working for them is athleticism, which can mask inexperience until the fundamentals are nailed down.
“We have a lot of spots to fill, but we also have a lot of athleticism, so I think we’ll be able to fill the holes pretty fast,” Thibodeau said.
Griffin said he wouldn’t be surprised if Scarborough starts slowly as players adjust to new positions, but believes the team can earn a top-six spot entering the playoffs in Western Maine Class A.
“As we get into the season, hopefully we’ll develop some momentum,” Griffin said. “We have some really good athletes. We just have to find where they all fit in and what the roles are.”
Henrikson is hesitant to make any predictions this early on. He said he expects Gray-New Gloucester and Greely to be very tough. He said believes Fryeburg Academy – not Cape – is the team to beat in the Western B.
Of course, that could change as the season progresses.
“We’ll just take it one day at a time, try to improve everyday,” Henrikson said. “We’ve got a long way to go. It all depends on how much we can improve in a short period of time.”
Confidence is another factor that any successful team needs to cultivate over the course of a season. Good players are crucial and some luck certainly helps, but the belief that the team will win despite the situation or the odds is an intangible that isn’t always easy to instill.
“We had done so well against so many teams in so many different environments that it gave us a lot of confidence last year,” Gordon said. “It’s not the season it was last year and it’s not the team it was last year. But by the same token, no one else has the same team they had last year.”
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