Joe Troiano didn’t realize he’d created a monster – until that monster started to roar, trample, devour and do other monstrous things on the softball field.
“I never dreamed the team would be this successful,” he says. “We were state champion runners-up last year, in our first season, and now we’ve gone one step further in our second year, making it to the regional tournament.”
Troiano started the Raymond-Windham Juniors Softball team – they call themselves the Rayham Mayhem – in 2013 “to give my daughter and other girls in the community more opportunity to play softball and help them improve their game.” Little did he know he’d assembled a group so talented and hardworking, they would reach the state championship in their first attempt, and win it in their second.
Now, they’re off to West Haven, Conn., where, starting Aug. 1, they’ll compete in the Junior League Regional Tournament, a double-elimination bracket also featuring teams from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The winner of that showdown will advance to Kirkland, Wash., to represent the East in the Junior League World Series.
The Mayhem consist of Raymonders Suzanna Butterfield, Kora Hunter, Jessie Meyer, Carlee Richmond, Dani Tardiff, Taylor Tibbetts and Katelyn Troiano, alongside Windhamites Megan Joy, Olivia Mora, Maddy Mooradian, Alex Morang and Lauren Talbot. Joe Troiano is the girls’ head coach, with Travis Demmons, Todd Hunter and Pat Tardiff assisting.
Strangely, the team didn’t win the state title at all. Well, they did, just not in the way they wanted to: They took the crown by forfeit. As District 6 winners over Gray and Scarborough, they were set to play their counterparts from District 4 before that team pulled out because of a scheduling conflict.
“I felt really funny when they called and told me the other team, from District 4, couldn’t play,” Joe Troiano says. “I tried rescheduling…I just felt funny about taking a state championship without playing a game. I wanted to earn it.”
Early in the season, injuries hounded the Mayhem.
“At one point,” Troiano says, “we were missing our ace pitcher, our starting shortstop, our starting second baseman, and our starting first baseman.”
Luckily, the lineup recovered, and that’s when the truly incredible started to fly.
They’ve won nine straight games, and – get this – in their three most recent matchups, they’ve outscored their opponents 58-7. No typo. In that stretch, Dani Tardiff is 11-13 with seven RBIs and a homer. In the circle, she’s pitched 17 innings, giving up just eight hits and three earned runs while amassing 36 strikeouts.
Butterfield, meanwhile, is 10-13 with 13 RBIs and two long homers – including a grand slam; Mora is 10-14 with 12 RBIs; Tibbetts is 8-13 with 8 RBIs; and Joy, behind the dish, has been better than solid, ending two of those three recent bouts by throwing out wannabe base-stealers.
Troiano is quick to add that his players get unshakeable support from their families.
“The parents are unbelievable,” he says. “Always helping out, whether it’s with concessions, events, field preparation and just being supportive throughout the season. It’s the true meaning of team.”
Mike Meyer of Island Cove Building sponsors the team. “[He’s] gone way above and beyond what you expect from any sponsor,” Troiano says, “and contributed in a big way to making this season very special for all of us.”
In addition to Meyer’s backing, the team has received generous donations from both Lonnie Taylor, owner of Innovative Distribution Services, and Kevin Hancock, president of Hancock Lumber. Those contributions will help with food and lodging in Connecticut. Transporting, feeding and finding a place for a dozen 13- and 14-year-old girls (not to mention their coaches and families) is no cheap task, after all.
“Aside from being outstanding ballplayers, they are an unbelievable group of girls,” Troiano says, “and it’s been great to see them gel. I feel very fortunate to have spent this season with them and shared this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It will be one they’ll never forget. Win or lose, they will always be champions.”
The Rayham Mayhem swarm Dani Tardiff as she reaches home after belting a ball out of the park.
The Raymond-Windham Juniors Softball team – known as the Rayham Mayhem – hoist the Junior Softball state championship banner. In back, from left, are Travis Demmons, Pat Tardiff, Todd Hunter. In middle row, from left, are Joe Troiano, Jessie Meyer, Suzanna Butterfield, Kora Hunter, Laurent Talbot, Alex Morang, Taylor Tibbetts, Katelyn Troiano, Dani Tardiff Megan Joy. In front, from left, are Maddy Mooradian and Carlee Richmond. Not pictured is Olivia Mora.
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