When Gregg Eggleston approached his team last week, all he saw were 17 puffy eyes and hearts filled with sadness.

His Gray-New Gloucester softball team had a Western Class B quarterfinal game with York that day, but the Patriots had just lost a classmate the night before in a car accident.

He asked his girls what they wanted to do that morning. They decided they’d dedicate the rest of their season to 16-year old Josh Libby and play on.

The Patriots are still playing, while still struggling with a loss felt throughout the community.

“I’m just amazed at the courage of these girls,” Eggleston said. “In a time when things are so dark, they’re giving the town someting to be happy about. They’re doing a lot for their community.”

The Patriots beat York that day and then toppled top-ranked Maranacook on Saturday in the semifinals. Gray-New Gloucester now gets a rematch with Fryeburg in the regional final at St. Joseph’s College.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., but was switched to Wednesday to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate a memorial service Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s tough for them to be focused on softball,” Eggleston said. “There are times when they’re trying to be focused, but right now they’re really forcing themselves, and they’re doing a fantastic job.”

The Patriots lost twice to the defending state champs. The Raiders won the first outing 5-0 when Hannah Hill, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, fired a one-hitter and struck out 12. In the rematch, Hill drove in the lone run with a sacrifice fly, while throwing a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Gray-NG’s Laura Getchell fanned 15 and allowed just four hits.

With two of the state’s best hurlers going head-to-head, it should be a game decided by the slightest of margins.

“It will depend on how the chips fall,” Eggelston said. “It’s tough. Fryeburg is a very good team. Fred (Apt) is a very good coach, and he has very good players, but so do I. It’ll be a good game. All that we can do is our best.”

Because of the change in games, the Western C final now gets the prime time 7:30 p.m. slot at Ward Field on Tuesday when Telstar meets Georges Valley for the third straight year.

The Rebels lost the last two championship games to the Bucs, the two-time defending Class C state champs.

“We played Georges Valley tough in the MVCs,” Telstar pitcher Kayla Merrill said. “So we’re excited. We had several hits off (Danielle Frye), and we think we can do it again.”

Georges Valley beat the Rebels 3-1 in the regular season meeting. Frye, the MVC Player of the Year, struck out 18 and allowed just three hits. Her Telstar counterpart, Candace Hall, struck out 12 and allowed four hits.

The Rebels won tn the MVC title game in nine innings. Telstar had five hits even though Frye struck out 15. Hall scattered eight hits and struck out five.

“We went into the MVC game with the attitude that we wanted to do better offensively than we did the first game,” Telstar coach Jim Lunney said. “I said, ‘This isn’t the game we’re worried about. We’re going to play them again, we hope, but we have to get better this game.'”

Telstar’s hopes are bolstered by the MVC win over the Bucs, giving the Rebels two MVC championships over Georges Valley in the last three years.

The Bucs graduated its entire infield from last year’s powerhouse lineup, but Georges Valley still produced its second straight perfect regular season, and extended its winning streak to 34 games. The Bucs are averaging seven runs per game while allowing less than a run per outing.

“It’s a big shot in the arm to beat them in the MVCs,” Lunney said. “(Frye’s) the Player of the Year. She’s had a great year. They’re a good team. Now there’s doubt in their heads, and there’s maybe a little confidence in our step.”

Tuesday’s 3:30 p.m. game offers another rematch. The two-time defending D state champs from Buckfield go for a fourth straight regional crown when it faces Richmond. It is the 10th time the two teams will play in the championship game and fifth straight. The Bucks have won eight of the previous 10 meetings.

The Bucks also won the regular season series. Buckfield won the first game in April, 3-1. Brittany Wiley allowed two hits and struck out six while Heather Clavet and Alicia Patrie each had a pair of hits. In the rematch in May, the Bucks won 4-3. Wiley struck out eight and scattered four hits.