BREWER – Harry Houdini would have been proud.

After rallying in its final outs in the regional final, the Buckfield softball team produced an escape act that made previous getaways look routine.

Down to its final out in the seventh inning Saturday, the Bucks needed a little luck, some determination and a bit of a miracle. Buckfield got all three to secure a stunning 2-1 win over Bangor Christian and second straight Class D state championship.

Senior outfielder Amy Reuter beat out an infield hit to plate the tying run and an error on the play allowed the winning run to score. Suddenly, the Bucks went from imminent defeat to three outs away from the state crown.

Pitcher Kasey Farrington fanned two of the last three batters in the seventh to secure the win and shock the Patriots (16-4).

“It’s amazing,” said Farrington. “During the seventh, I had tears in my eyes because I thought it was done. Then Amy gets that hit. I started bawling my eyes out. I wanted to go out and hug her that moment. I think it meant everything to us seniors.”

Bangor Christian’s Jillian French struck out 18 batters and allowed just five hits. Only three outs weren’t recorded by French.

“We don’t give up, and we work together,” said Buckfield coach Ken Farrington. “When you play against a good team, it’s about that error that happens. That’s what it’s about. It was too good pitchers. (Jillian French) is an excellent pitcher. It was going to be a no-hitter or a one-hit game.”

A run in the fourth appeared to be all the Patriots would need. After Buckfield (13-3) failed to tie it in the sixth, despite getting Ashlee Hamann on with a lead-off bunt hit, the Bucks seemed destined for disappointment. In the seventh, French got a quick ground out and strikeout, but the Bucks gave new meaning to the phrase “rally on two.” LeAnn Abbott gave the Bucks life when she was hit by a pitch. Brittany Wiley followed and beat out a bunt hit, which put Abbott at third. Wiley stole second, putting two runners in position for Reuter.

The senior outfielder, who plated the tying run in the win over Richmond in the Western D final, had made contact against French in two previous at bats. She had reached on an error and hit one back to the pitcher.

“It was all pressure,” said Reuter. “I had hit off her. I knew I could. So it was a ‘would I thing.'”

She made contact again and grounded a slow chopper toward second. Bekah Smith charged the ball and had to make a quick toss to first, but Reuter was running hard all the way. She beat the throw by a step.

“I can’t believe it, and I did it,” said Reuter. “I just hit it, and I knew I had to go. So I went. All I could hear was (assistant coach Ted Dunn) yelling ‘Come. Come. Come faster.’ “

Abbott scored on the single and when the ball was thrown away, Wiley made a dash for the plate to score the winner.

The stunned Patriots had one last shot in the bottom of the inning, but Farrington finished them off. The senior hurler struck out 15 and allowed just two hits.

“The last few games, I feel like I’ve been doing good,” said Farrington. “I always pitch good in the heat. I feel like I wasn’t as fast today because the mound is kind of hard, but I was able to get a good enough push off.”

The Bucks heard all about French’s prowess prior to Saturday morning. French fanned 14 in a five-inning 17-0 win over top-seeded Ashland. It was natural for the Bucks to feel a bit intimidated.

“We haven’t seen anything like her, other than in scrimmages with Class C and B,” said Farrington. “Finally people were getting their timing down at the end of the game. That’s when we were able to come back.”

Farrington kept the Bucks in the game early, and hits by Alicia Patrie and Henderson in the second and fourth gave Buckfield some confidence at the plate. The Bucks stranded runners in scoring position in three of the first four innings.

“Coming into the game, we heard a lot about them,” said Henderson, who played the game with an injured thumb that got hit by a pitch when she was catching. “Not really anything negative, so we were kind of nervous about it. Once we started playing we realized we could play with them.We watched them warm-up and could see they were no different than us.”

Both teams squandered limited chances in the early innings. The Patriots drew three walks between the second and third but stranded four runners.

In the fourth, a walk and wild pitch put Moriah Bach at second. After a strike out, Monica Alexander singled to score Bach. In the sixth, Bach got on again thanks to an error and reached third on a wild pitch and passed ball. Farrington got a strike out and a ground out to Patrie at first to preserve the 1-0 score.