WINDHAM — A softball pitcher’s dominant run kept going, and a coach’s stellar career came to an end Saturday afternoon.
Brooke Gerry struck out 14 while allowing two hits, Jaydn Kimball homered and drove in five runs, and top-seeded Windham defeated No. 5 Scarborough 6-0 in the Class A South semifinals in Red Storm Coach Tom Griffin’s final game.
“It’s an unreal feeling,” said Gerry, the recently crowned Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. “This team has worked so hard all season.”
The Eagles (16-2) will play Tuesday night at St. Joseph’s College against second-seeded Biddeford for a spot in the state final. It’ll be a rematch of a 2021 semifinal that Biddeford won in 14 innings on the way to the regional title.
Windham is seeking its first regional title since 1995, when it was in Class B.
“These girls have been absolutely incredible all season long,” Eagles Coach Fred Wilcox said. “They really play for each other. … It’s not just one or two players. It’s everybody who’s contributing.”
The win marked the end of an era in the sport. After the game, Griffin said he is retiring after 32 years, having led Scarborough to eight state titles and status as a Class A powerhouse.
Griffin said he told his players he would be done at the beginning of the season. The Red Storm finished the season 13-5.
“It was time for me to let go of that stress,” he said. “I love so many parts of this game, but the hard part is making (playing time) decisions. I had to make some tough decisions about playing time today, and I don’t like making those. I have to, I’ve done it. But I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights. You take it personal, how successful the kids are.”
No team has been more consistently successful than Scarborough, and the Red Storm began the playoffs with a victory over Cheverus, followed by an impressive 10-1 win over No. 4 Massabesic. But Scarborough ran into an ace in Gerry, who didn’t allow a runner past first base and who has surrendered only six hits while striking out 39 across three playoff games.
“I remembered to stay calm,” Gerry said. “Just go pitch by pitch. Every pitch matters. Compete every pitch.”
The only thing she needed was some breathing room, and Kimball provided it. After Stella Jarvais gave Windham the lead by driving in Chloe Edwards with an infield single, Kimball hit a long drive over the right-field wall for a 3-0 lead.
Standing behind third base, Wilcox shouted “Yeah!” the moment the ball left Kimball’s bat.
“For them to come through with something like that in that situation, it feels good,” he said.
Kimball wanted to give her pitcher a bigger lead.
“That was a time when my team needed me,” she said. “One run isn’t enough to secure anything.”
Gerry kept rolling, and Kimball provided more breathing room in the sixth, drilling a pitch into the right-center field gap with the bases loaded for a three-run single and a 6-0 advantage.
“I’m so excited,” Kimball said. “We’re a young team, and we’ve grown so much.”
Scarborough got singles from Alana Sawyer and Angelina Pizzella.
“We thought from the get-go that we were one of the top four teams,” Griffin said. “We were down in that eight or nine spot there (in the Heal point standings), and I kind of challenged them a month or so to step up their game. … I’m very proud of the young ladies. It’s a special group.”
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