STANDISH – Someday it might happen.

That was the premise it worked and played by. Each year the softball team at Fryeburg Academy strove to improve, hoping, at some point, it would pay great dividends.

“Coach has always looked at us as a growing program and that we’d eventually get there,” said senior outfielder Jacqui Bell. “I’m just glad we were the class that got there. We thought it would happen later than this.”

With the Raiders’ 1-0 win over the defending Class B champions Wednesday, Fryeburg reached that milestone. It was the first softball regional title and a significant achievement for a team that was 1-15 just a few years ago.

“This is the farthest that Fryeburg Academy softball has ever been,” said junior pitcher Hannah Hill, the Gatorade Player of the Year for Maine. “It’s definitely exciting and it’s quite the thrill to be here. I guarantee I’ll wake up in the morning and say ‘Hmm, we’re still playing softball.’ I’m kind of pumped about that. It’s still surreal right now. It’s a big deal for us. It’s very huge because this team has never been here before.”

The Raiders play surprising Medomak Valley Saturday at 4 p.m. at Coffin Field in Brewer for the Class B state crown.

“It proves to us that hard work and dedication can do anything,” said senior third baseman Cerise Humphrey.

When Humphrey, Bell and fellow senior Candace Thompson were freshmen, the Raiders went 1-15. The Raiders tried to be positive but a shot at a championship during their careers didn’t seem likely.

“I knew we had the work ethic to improve, but I didn’t think we’d ever get to this level,” said Humphrey. “We had some young players come up and help fill the gaps in our team.”

Hill came in the next year. Her class also featured starters shortstop Ellen Head, catcher Heather Tripp, first baseman Desiree Ramsay and designated player Tanya Randall. The following year, second baseman Ariel McConkey, outfielder Brylie Walker and outfielder Kaela Mitchell arrived.

Hill has been one of the state’s most dominant hurlers, but she raves about the support she has from the rest of the team. The Raiders trust each other and have confidence as a group. They’ve ridden Hill’s pitching, but she’s relied on their play in the field and support at the plate.

“They buy into what we want to teach them,” said Coach Fred Apt. “We try to adjust what we have for a team. We’re not the fastest team, but we try to make things happen. They buy into what we’re trying to teach them. They believe in what we do as a coaching staff, and they believe in each other. Once that happens, it just takes off.”

Fryeburg boasts 11 state championships in boys and girls’ skiing. Baseball won in 1982 and 1983. Boys’ basketball won in 1976 and football in 1963. Wrestling won crowns in 1968, 1969 and 1971 while both boys and girls won tennis titles in 1999. The most recent state championship came in hockey in 2004.

The only girls’ state wins have come in skiing, tennis and in soccer in 1989.

“I thought we’d get a lot better, but I didn’t know we’d get this far,” said Bell.

Fryeburg went 9-7 in 2006 and followed with a pair of 15-1 regular seasons the last two years. After a loss to Greely in the semifinals last spring, the Raiders were ready for the next step, but that wasn’t without some turmoil earlier this year.

“People don’t realize what this team has been through,” said Apt, who has coached for 10 years. “We don’t have one person in the infield that was playing that position last year. At the beginning of the year, we lost a couple of people and had things go on. Cerise Humphrey was my catcher for three years. This year, I moved her to third and moved Heather to catcher. Everything worked out well. The kids have come through so much. All the credit to them.”

The team rarely discussed the goal of winning a championship but the subject of their 1-15 season often spurred them on.

“We talk about it a lot,” said Bell. “It’s a big part of our program to think we were once so far away from this goal.”

That’s what makes this season and this week so special. The success has created a buzz in the community. Home games draw crowds that only increased as the tournament began. Coaches and players can’t go anywhere without seeing the excitement they’ve generated. Fryeburg has become a softball hotbed and the community is along for the ride.

“In a small community, it shows that we can do anything if we work together,” said Humphrey.