HALLOWELL — It’s a sure sign of a successful season and the hope of every softball team in Western Maine.
Setting foot on the Richard W. Bailey Field on the campus at Saint Joseph’s College can be the highlight for any team’s spring.
After losing only a few players from last year, it was something the Telstar Rebels were aiming for this season.
“At the beginning of the year, that was our goal to get here,” senior first baseman Vanessa Godwin said. “It’s pretty exciting. It’s definitely going to be a great finish to our senior year.”
Telstar returns to the Western C final Wednesday and plays the defending state champions from Madison at 3:30 p.m.
Though the Rebels have been no stranger to playing in championship games at Bailey Field, it has been a few years. Telstar last won a title there when it captured the regional final in 2011. It was the Rebels’ third straight regional crown win at Bailey Field an they won the state game there in 2010.
The Rebels’ four seniors saw previous Telstar teams play there but have not had that opportunity themselves.
“To finally go there and be a senior and have the chance to go play there is even better,” senior catcher Sadie Ellsworth said.
Coach Jim Lunney knew he had a strong junior class and just four seniors this season, but he wasn’t simply trying to better his team for a run next year. The Rebels lost in the semifinals last season to the eventual state champs from Madison. Telstar had much of the team back. So the potential was there.
“This group has never been to Saint Joe’s,” Lunney said. “So I’m very pleased for my seniors. I thought we’d have a chance to go next year because we should be strong next year, but I wanted to go this year because of our seniors.”
The Rebels have contended and been within a win or two away from reaching the regional final, but it wasn’t until Saturday’s win at Hall-Dale that Telstar completed the task.
“My freshman year when I started catching, we only made it to the quarterfinals,” Ellsworth said. “Then it was the semifinals my sophomore and junior year. So to finally get past the semifinals, is a great feeling.”
Ellsworth has been a four-year starter for the Rebels, while outfielder Katie Merrill has been a starter for the last three season. Godwin and second baseman Annie Cushman were returning starters this spring. Though the Rebels senior group is small, there’s no shortage of experience. It took some time to evolve, but the Rebels are now playing their best ball of the season.
“We started out the season pretty strong,” Ellsworth said. “I think we got stronger and we’ve bonded a lot more as a team. “
They beat a Bulldog team that they lost to earlier in the season. Telstar had an uncharacteristic, disastrous game with eight errors in an 11-2 loss in Hallowell. The Rebels avenged that Saturday with a gutsy performance. Junior pitcher Olivia York pitched a six-hitter, while fellow juniors Lisa Gammon and Ashley Savage drove in key runs that helped Telstar rally from a 1-0 deficit. The Rebels were more poised, especially as Hall-Dale threatened in the seventh, and executed well in the field. It was a much improved performance from earlier in the season.
“We just wanted to forget about it,” said Merrill of the previous loss. “We just wanted to leave it out of our heads and just start fresh.”
The Rebels will have to do the same Wednesday at St. Joe’s. They play a Madison team that has won back-to-back regional titles on that field and also won the state crown there last spring.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (17-1) beat Telstar in the semifinals last season and won the only regular season meeting this year. Madison scored two runs in the fourth to beat the Rebels 2-1 in Bethel. The winning run came on an error following a Whitney Bess triple. Pitcher Madeline Wood allowed just four Telstar hits and struck out 11.
Telstar (16-2) won’t have the tourney experience the Bulldogs have and will face an uphill climb against the seasoned defending champs. But those odds haven’t stopped the Rebels yet.
“It’s crazy because we’ve never gone this far,” Cushman said. “We knew we could do it in the beginning. We had confidence that we could go far.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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