By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

WALES – Senior Day for the Oak Hill High School softball team probably took longer than the upcoming commencement ceremony. And this muggy Monday afternoon lacked the celebratory mood that is bound to characterize that evening.

Medomak Valley of Waldoboro clubbed 21 hits, took advantage of 11 errors and rolled to a 23-6 rout in what was thought to be an intersectional clash of playoff-bound Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference teams.

“Very long and very depressing,” summarized Oak Hill coach Julie Boucher, who saw her team fall into a 13-0 hole before putting a runner on base. The Raiders, ranked No. 4 in the most recent Western Class B Heal Point standings, dropped their third straight game.

The Panthers (10-5) scored in every inning and batted around in both the third and seventh frames to bolster their Eastern Maine post-season aspirations. Eight players banged out multiple hits for Medomak, including Jenn O’Jala with four singles.

Leadoff hitter Megan Bradstreet went 3-for-6 with an inside-the-park home run and crossed the plate four times. She drove in three runs. Sophomore Ashley Hunt, who started the season as the junior varsity catcher, also scored four runs and cranked a pair of triples.

Stephanie Lee added three hits, and Erin Sweeney, April Baker, Liz Hassett and Samantha Olson each chalked up two for the Panthers. Medomak entered the holiday matinee having dropped two of its previous three games.

“We were in somewhat of a slump,” said Medomak coach Glen Barbour. “We lost a game to Waterville last week, and they were the second-lowest ranked team in our league. This is what we needed.”

Oak Hill (7-8) enjoyed one highly productive inning against winning pitcher Brittany Barbour. The Raiders sent 10 players to the plate in the fourth. Shannon Safford’s triple broke up Barbour’s perfect game and triggered a six-run, six-hit rally.

Subtract that inning from Barbour’s pitching line and she allowed two hits, striking out a pair. Barbour did not issue a walk.

Plus, the support kept coming even after Oak Hill’s mid-game explosion. The Panthers pushed across another run in the fifth, three in the sixth and six in the seventh.

“We’ve been a little short on numbers,” said coach Barbour. “I’ve been without two or three players, and I’m still missing an outfielder. You look at our catcher (Hunt). She’s only a sophomore, and she hit the ball a ton. Those triples had to be hit a long way, because I’m always kidding her that she’s slower than death.”

Sweeney stroked a two-run single in the third, when Medomak scored seven runs to build an 11-0 advantage.

Chelsea Rioux knocked in Safford for the Raiders’ first run in the fourth. Magan Blais later slapped a two-run single, and Danni Potvin delivered a double. Potvin (2-for-3) was the lone repeat hitter for Oak Hill.

After a lengthy conference with her players following the 2-hour game, Boucher cautioned that the Raiders shouldn’t expect last week’s high ranking to mean a guaranteed playoff spot. Oak Hill travels to Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield to close out the regular season Wednesday.

“We won’t (get in the tournament) if we don’t win. Ill pull us,” said Boucher, who quickly pointed out that she was kidding. But then she added, “You have to figure all the teams around us and behind us are winning their games, and we haven’t been playing well.”

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