4 min read

STANDISH — All facets of the game showed up for the Windham softball team with a championship at stake. Hitting. Pitching. Defense. Animal control.

Kennedy Kimball pitched a two-hitter while striking out 11, and a fast start at the plate sent Windham on its way to a 7-0 victory over Edward Little at Saint Joseph’s College’s Richard Bailey Field, giving the Eagles their second state title in three years.

“We came out here, we were so excited. We were pumped from the get-go,” said junior shortstop Addie Caiazzo, who had a triple among two hits. “I feel like that’s what keeps us going. That’s what we do.”

Windham finished 18-2. Edward Little, which prevailed in the North region as the No. 7 seed to make it to championship Saturday, finished 13-7.

“I am super proud of our kids, and super proud of our program,” Edward Little coach Elaine Derosby said. “This just shows, we talk about playing your best softball in June, and when June 1 came, they really turned it on.”

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The Red Eddies finally met a challenge they couldn’t overcome in the Eagles, who played smooth and loose on the championship stage — thanks in part to a visit from a woodchuck that was in the Windham dugout as the game was about to begin and caused a commotion as players and coaches sought towels and other materials that could help shoo away the rascally rodent.

It eventually took off across the infield, to laughter from both dugouts. It returned before the sixth inning, but Windham coach Darcey Gardiner took it off the field in a container, claiming it brought out “the farm girl in me.”

“It was the perfect comic relief,” Gardiner said. “We needed a comical relief to bring the tension down. Keep coming out, woodchuck.”

Kimball, who outdueled Cheverus star Addison DeRoche in the South final, was dominant again. She retired the first 10 batters she faced and held the Red Eddies hitless through the first six innings.

“She was throwing first-pitch strikes, she was cool, she’s calm, collected,” Gardiner said. “Just a true, seasoned professional is what she looked like out there. The theme we’ve said all year is this is her team, this is her and (Stella Jarvais’) team. And I think they went out there and proved why they’re the best pitcher-catcher duo in the state of Maine.”

Kimball said she focused on not being too careful with the Edward Little batters, instead forcing them to hit her.

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“It was a lot of trying to go right at them, get ahead in counts, and maybe jamming them inside or up,” she said. “Even if they hit it, they hit a lot of slow-roll ground balls or straight pop flies. That was the goal for every batter.”

Windham’s offense, which generated only one run on a wild pitch in the regional final, was ready to support Kimball. In the first inning, Caiazzo led off against Kassidy Lobb with a triple after two bunt attempts and came in to score when Jarvais bunted for a single. After a strikeout and a fielder’s choice, freshman Yani Kostopoulos doubled to deep left, scoring Oakley McLeod for a 2-0 lead.

“I was trying to get on, because I knew I had good hitters behind me,” Caiazzo said. “I did try to bunt a little bit, and I was like ‘No, this isn’t working for me.’ So I went back to my game plan.”

More support came in the second, as Kyla Harvie singled and scored on a Caiazzo hit up the middle. The Eagles then broke it open in the third, as a Kostopoulos single knocked in Abhilasha Jain, and McLeod and Kostopoulos scored on a passed ball for a 6-0 advantage.

Gardiner said she had her lineup hit against the team’s backup pitchers (Lydia Marden, Lacy Higgins and Jain) to adjust to slower pitches after preparing for velocity with DeRoche.

“That really helped us dial in with our timing,” she said. “We could take our time, you can stride, you can see the ball a little bit deeper in the plate. I was really happy with those adjustments.”

Windham’s final run came in the sixth when Chloe Edwards bunted and scored on a groundout. Three outs later, after Kimball stranded Lobb and Kylee Lebrun following singles, the Eagles could celebrate again.

“This team is so talented, we don’t have to do too much to keep it simple,” Jarvais said. “Especially in a game like this, emotions can get really heightened and a single thing can get you down. Keeping it simple was how we were going to win this game.”

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire...

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