By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

A team couldn’t ask for a better way to launch themselves into the postseason than the way the Oxford Hills softball squad did.

The Vikings capped off the regular season with a thrilling 1-0 victory over then top-ranked Brunswick in 12 innings.

“That was a great game,” said Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard. “I think the kids believe in themselves. The only team we haven’t beaten is Skowhegan. So I think they know that they can compete with anyone. I think they’re ready to go.”

Lauren Austin’s game-winning triple also helped bolster Oxford Hills’ standing in the Eastern A. The Vikings (12-4) finished fourth, giving them a home preliminary game Tuesday against Old Town (6-10).

“It’s certainly a nice spot to be in,” said Goddard, whose team had its best finish since being No. 1 and 13-3 in 2002. “I didn’t think we’d be be able to be that high because we were around seventh when the last Heal Points came out. Not looking past Old Town, but we could have two home playoff games which can be kind of nice.”

Leavitt (8-8) and Lewiston (8-8) won’t have the luxury of home. The Hornets finished 11th and travel to Hampden while Lewiston, ranked 12th, plays at Skowhegan.

In Class C, Jay earned its first top ranking after being second last year.

“As a senior, it is amazing,” said senior shortstop Lindsey McDonald. “It feels so great to finally be at the top. It the best way to go out.”

Jay went 14-1 last year and lost in the Western C semifinal to Georges Valley. So the Tigers know there’s more work to be done.

“We don’t think of it as us being No. 1,” said McDonald. “We just think of it as another game that we have to play our hardest to win.”

Telstar (12-2), the top-ranked team the past two seasons, finished fourth and earned a preliminary-round bye. Monmouth (12-2) had its best finish in Class C at No. 2.

Eighth-ranked Lisbon (11-5), sixth-seeded St. Dom’s (11-3) and seventh-place Mt. Abram (11-5) will host prelims while Dirigo, ranked 12th at 6-10 will play at Madison and 10th-ranked Livermore Falls (8-8) plays at Mt. Abram.

In Western B, fifth-seeded Poland finished 11-5 for the second straight year. Despite losing seven seniors, the Knights improved upon their seventh-place finish of last year.

“It’s great to have consistent records and be over double digits in wins,” said coach Susan Robbins. “There’s a lot of legitimacy that’s being brought to the program. When you talk about Poland softball, people will say They’re a good team and there’s quality all the way through.’ I’m real proud of that.”

The Knights, who won their first-ever playoff game last year in the prelims, earned a first-round bye. Poland’s fifth-place seeding is its highest ever, with the exception of a third in the Southwest brackett during the 2002 open tournament.

After a 4-0 start, the Knights dropped three straight but have finished with five consecutive wins. They’ll play a quarterfinal at Cape Elizabeth, a team the Knights lost to 3-2 on a tie-breaking run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“As soon as we saw our ranking in the Heal Points go down, that was like a hit in the heart,” said Robyn Gauthier, the Poland third baseman. “We knew we had to pick it up. We didn’t want to play a preliminary. We want to be able to go and scout preliminaries.”

In Class D, Buckfield (12-4) took the second spot behind the defending state champs from Richmond. It is the fifth straight year the Bucks have been one of the top two teams. Rangeley (11-4) finished third for its best season since being third at 9-3 in 1994.