STANDISH — Autumn Berry thought she’d have a pretty good view of her first varsity softball season.

As a Telstar sophomore, Berry expected to have a sideline perspective of the defending Class C state champions.

“I thought I was going to sit the bench with all the other underclassmen,” said Berry.

That scenario changed in a hurry during the preseason. One injury led to a position change. That left a void to fill. The next thing Berry knew, she was the starting shortstop.

“I was kind of nervous because I’d never really played with the varsity girls,” said Berry, who was the shortstop on the JV squad as a freshman. “I didn’t really want to play when he told me I was going to start.”

The Rebels were in a bit of a fix. Coach Jim Lunney had expected to use Berry over the course of the season, but he wasn’t counting on having to throw the responsibilities of the starting shortstop on her inexperienced shoulders.

“I thought she might help us,” said Lunney. “I thought she’d play here or there. She’d play some in the outfield. When I lost my catcher, we knew we had to move her in.”

Sophomore Rachel Wheeler was supposed to step into the catcher role this season. Appendicitis during the preseason put her out of action. That forced the Rebels to move all-star shortstop Lyndsay Merrill behind to plate to catch for her sister, Kayla. Merrill had caught some in middle school and has done well behind the plate this year.

Lunney thought Berry could handle the shortstop job and gave her a chance at it.

“She was doing well in practice,” he said. “We told her, ‘We want to put you in there and you have to do the best that you can.'”

One of the biggest challenges for Berry was the fact that she was a newcomer on a veteran championship team. Telstar boasts nine seniors and six of them are starters. Some of them she barely knew.

“The hardest part was probably making friends with everyone,” she said. “I didn’t really know where I’d fit in.”

As for playing the game, she says that came a little easier. The game was faster than she was used to, but it was still softball.

“It wasn’t too much of a challenge,” she says. “I knew what I had to do. So I wasn’t too worried about it. It was OK after the first two or three games.”

Berry hasn’t looked out of place in the field at all this season. She’s been a solid fielder and fit in nicely with an infield of seniors Nicena Walker, Katie Sumner and junior Kallie Brown.

“She’s done beyond my expectations,” said Lunney. “I’m very pleased. She’s done an incredible job. This is her first varsity experience. She gets the outs. She makes the plays.”

In Wednesday’s come-from-behind regional championship win over Georges Valley, she singled in the crucial fourth inning in which Telstar erased a 4-2 deficit to take the 5-4 lead. With Victoria Forkus drawing a one-out walk, Berry kept the threat going with a single. Sarah Averill was the next batter, and her bunt was thrown away, allowing Forkus to score. Lyndsay Merrill followed with a two-run single.

“It’s hard to state how valuable she’s been for us,” said Lunney. “Moving Lyndsay behind the plate, we had to find someone. I told her that she had a chance to help the team.”

Now the defending state champs have the opportunity to repeat. The Rebels play Dexter on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Coffin Field in Brewer. It’s a new experience for Berry but one she’s been a significant part of already.

“It feels really good that we’re going to states,” said Berry. “It feels good that we won Western Maine and came back.”

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