Late season losses mean the difference between playing in the KVAC tourney and a Class B bye or hosting a preliminary round game.
By Kevin Mills
Staff Writer

Julie Boucher looked at the latest Heal Point standings and kind of wishes she hadn’t.

As recent as last week, her Oak Hill softball team was ranked third and in position to earn a bye of next week’s preliminaries. Now, her team had dropped to sixth.

So instead of playing in the KVAC playoff this week, her team has ample time off and will host a prelim next Tuesday.

“I’m a little disappointed,” said Boucher. “I was hoping that we’d be a little higher. I was hoping we’d come through in some big games that we didn’t. I didn’t think it would hurt us as bad with the standings.”

What makes it hardest for Boucher is the fact she considers this one of the best Raider softball teams she has had, but the 11-5 record and sixth-place standing doesn’t show it.

“I just hope they realize the potential they have and realize the level they have to play at in the playoffs,” she said.

The Raiders certainly have opportunity to rectify the situation.

After all, it was only a few runs, a couple bad innings, a few breaks that have cost Oak Hill a few more wins and Heal Points. This is a team that did hand second-seeded Maranacook its first loss of the year and is better seasoned for the tournament than a year ago. Three of their five losses were by one run.

“I think they’re more experienced,” said Boucher. “The core are three-year varsity players. They know what to expect.

They’re more prepared this time around. They know what it’s like to reach the playoffs.”

That makes a huge difference, especially in a wide-open Western B field. Though Oak Hill is one of just three KVAC teams playing in the West, it seems to be on par with the talent level of most of the WMC teams.

“I’ve been smart over the last few years,” said Boucher. “I started to scout more and learn more about the Southern Maine teams.

“We know there are quality teams out there. That helps get us excited and prepared to play.”

The Western B tournament will likely come down to which teams play the soundest.

It is something the Raiders haven’t done at times but are certainly capable of doing.

“It means we have to step up our level of play,” said Boucher. “We can’t have any innings where we mentally shutdown a little bit. It seems like the fifth inning, we’ve kind of shut down mentally. We’ve kind of let our guard down.”

KVAC title game

The top two teams in Eastern A meet today in the KVAC championship game. Top-ranked Leavitt (16-0) hosts second-ranked Messalonskee (15-1).

The game is really not much more than a glorified exhibition, but it well could be a preview of the Eastern A title game.

The clubs met only once in the regular season. Leavitt won 1-0 in Turner. Tuesday, Leavitt beat Skowhegan in similar fashion in the KVAC semifinals.