Softball: Pitching trio a key to Oxford Hills’ success

Oxford Hills pitcher Kyeria Morse winds up for a pitch against Gardiner on May 22 in Paris. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Oxford Hills softball coach Cindy Goddard takes comfort in knowing she has three capable pitchers ready to go, and a solid team in the field to back up them up, as the Vikings progress in their latest postseason run.

Top-seeded Oxford Hills (17-1) will be facing third-seeded-Skowhegan (16-2) in the Class A North final, which was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday due to the weather forecast. The teams’ second meeting of the season will still be held at the University of Maine in Orono beginning at 7 p.m.

Oxford Hills beat the River Hawks 2-1 in the final game of the regular season, on May 30, when Tristen Derenburger launched a walk-off home run.

“There is a couple of elements that get you to the next level, and one is you have to have a good pitcher or a good pitching staff,” Goddard said. “This is the most luxury I have had in my whole entire career. I really have four pitchers on my staff, but is one injured — Charlotte McGreevy didn’t pitch this year.

“So it has been awesome because we kind of started with a different path, and with Maddy (Miller) and Kyeria (Morse) kind of at the beginning of the year more so — and Cam (Mayhan) pitched a little bit. (Mayhan) was just starting to show us her stuff and then she got injured with a foot injury, so she didn’t pitch for long time. Now she is coming back … so it would be an opportunity to kind of put her in the lineup.”

Goddard added that Morse will be Oxford Hills’ starter in the circle on Wednesday. Miller was the Vikings’ sole pitcher last season before Morse arrived on the scene as a freshman.

“… At the beginning of the year, we used (Miller) a little bit more, so we kind of not split time, but she probably had four or five games in the season just because she is very steady, very confident … It was kind of a comfort because we have a lot of young players.”

Goddard said Morse sometimes puts too much pressure on herself when she is pitching.

“(Morse) wants to perform, and I think sometimes when you get so tense because you want to do it so right that you are not relaxed and just comfortable.” Goddard said. “Sometimes, you get worked up. It makes things harder.”

But Goddard is not surprised that Morse and Mayhan, even though they are both young, are getting the job done.

“Kyeria, we’ve known about her pitching abilities for a while,” Goddard said. “If you ask anyone around the state, they pretty much (say), ‘Oh, you have the Morse girl coming.’ It’s like, ‘We do.’ A lot of people knew she’s coming and she’s very, very good.”

Goddard said that Mayhan, a freshman, is also a longtime pitcher before high school and the coach was also looking forward to her arrival, too.

“So they are no hidden secrets,” Goddard said. “It is just about, are they going perform at the next level and then how to … manage them all and they still be part of the bigger picture and feel important. That is a whole other task.”

But Goddard’s confidence in her young pitchers remains high, and they give the Vikings options inside the circle.

“My assistant coach and I were just talking, like we probably … if one pitcher isn’t really throwing their on-game that we probably need to move quicker to give her relief because we really have good relief,” Goddard said.

Goddard wants to make sure all her pitchers feel like they are important to the team’s success.

“The key thing is that — or at least I hope — they feel like they are all part of the team, and like … they are one part of it,” Goddard said. “You know we’ve got numerous other players in our program go to different positions to make us stronger as a team — and I think they are all team players.”

STAND AND DELIVER

Miller, a junior, said having other good pitchers on board makes it a little bit easier for her. If the junior is not in the circle, she is at third base.

“It is a lot different than last year,” said Miller, who has compiled a 1.35 earned-run average across 26 innings this season. “So nice to be able to rely on the other pitchers. It feels like I can really let loose now, and I trust the other pitchers and it is a really great feeling.”

She is also confident in her team when she is inside the circle.

Oxford Hills pitcher Maddy Miller winds up for a pitch during a May 17 softball game against Edward Little at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“The coach is always telling us, ‘Trust your field, trust your field,’ and for this team, that’s a reality,” Miller said. “Like, we know the routine plays are going to be made, and that is a really great feeling as well.”

But while good pitching is essential, Miller knows everything has to come together to produce a victory. She said the Vikings are the complete package with timely hitting, defense and, of course, pitching. Miller and Morse switch off at third base when they are not inside the circle.

“This is a new position for me, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” Miller said.

Miller also tips her cap to the freshmen and the rest of the young crowd, “because we only have two seniors, and it is just amazing what our future holds here. We are doing well now, but we have so much young talent. I am really excited to see what is to come.”

Mayhan came on in relief in the seventh inning against Brunswick in Saturday’s A North semifinal and helped stave off the Dragons rally in the top of the seventh inning.

She said her confidence is growing and she is looking forward to the regional final.

With the bases loaded, Oxford Hills relief pitcher Cameron Mayhan delivers a pitch after getting the first out of the seventh inning in a game against Brunswick at the Gouin Complex in South Paris on Saturday. Mayhan also got the final second and third outs to give the Vikings a 2-0 win in the Class A North semifinal. Brewster Burns photo

“I am not as nervous as I was just because I know that if I mess up, no one is going to be mad at me or anything,” said Mayhan, who has allowed two hits and three walks while striking out six in six scoreless innings. “(I am) very much looking forward to (the regional final) because it is going to be fun and we are going to have a lot of energy. It is just going to be fun to play.”

Morse said that winning a state championship would be great send-off for her sister — Kaydence, the 2022 Sun Journal Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2023 Miss Maine Softball award — who is the team’s catcher. The two have a strong bond on and off the field.

“I hope this team really makes it — especially for my sister,” said Kyeria Morse, who has struck out 125 batters (91 swinging, 36 looking) in 77 innings.

She said that coming in as a freshman and pitching hasn’t rattled her.

“I am used to that because I am kind of the youngest ones on my travel team when we first started,” she said.

Besides, Morse said, the pressure is lessened by knowing she has strong backing from the Vikings defense and her sister is right behind the plate to call the pitches.

“When she is catching for me and the calls that she makes, she is really good at it,” Kyeria Morse said.