WATERVILLE — Morgan Wills hit the leather hard — but just enough times, the Skowhegan softball team hit the ball harder.
The River Hawks knew Wills, Messalonskee’s ace and one of the top pitchers in the state, would get her strikeouts Saturday. She did so, but Skowhegan was ultimately to tag her for three key extra-base hits in a 5-2 Class A North semifinal victory at Colby College.
“I thought our kids showed a great approach today and were disciplined at the plate,” Skowhegan head coach Lee Johnson said. “Morgan is a talented kid, and she’s caused a lot of problems for a lot of people, so we knew we had to be confident at the plate and make our opportunities count.”
Callaway LePage highlighted Skowhegan’s offensive performance with a towering home run in the fifth inning, and Lily Noyes struck out eight batters in a complete-game effort as the River Hawks advanced to face Oxford Hills in the regional final. Wills had 12 strikeouts for Messalonskee.
After a scoreless first inning, Annabelle Morris opened the scoring for No. 3 Skowhegan (16-2) in the second as she doubled in Arabel Linkletter and Carlie Jarvais. Linkletter hit an RBI double of her own in the third to bring in Natalie Gilman and put the River Hawks up 3-0.
With Noyes humming along nicely in the circle, Skowhegan maintained that three-run lead heading to the top of the fifth. That’s when LePage, who has reveled in being back on the softball diamond after an injury-riddled senior year, padded the lead with a two-run homer to left-center.
“It was like revenge for the year I’ve had; I could feel all my insides build up,” said LePage, who missed the end of Skowhegan’s state title-winning field hockey season and all of the basketball campaign with a knee injury. “I got a little teary-eyed when I hit it. It felt really good.”
The Skowhegan softball team comes out to home plate to congratulate Callaway LePage, second from right, as she crosses the plate during Saturday’s Class A North softball semifinal against Messalonskee at Colby College in Waterville. David Leaming photo
Second-ranked Messalonskee (13-5) gave Skowhegan a scare in the seventh as two walks by Noyes, an Aryana Aldrich single and two errors by the River Hawks gave the Eagles a fighting chance. Noyes, though, ultimately worked out of the jam to seal Skowhegan’s place in the regional title game.
Noyes’ stellar pitching performance was her second in as many days after she posted a two-hit shutout of Hampden Academy just 18 hours earlier. Like LePage, Noyes has been battling knee problems, but the Skowhegan junior was ultimately able to pitch her way through the pain.
“I think semi-all of it was working for me, but with my knee injury, it was kind of hard,” said Noyes, who held Messalonskee to just five hits. “It’s been a problem all season, but I was able to pitch through it. I knew my teammates were there and had my back.”
The game marked just the second time in the past 15 games that Wills had surrendered more than two runs. The Messalonskee senior had posted seven shutouts in that span, including three straight to end the regular season before the Eagles topped Bangor 12-5 on Wednesday.
One of those shutouts came May 19 as Messalonskee beat Skowhegan 4-0 in Oakland. This game between the two, though, saw Skowhegan bring an extra level of energy as they fed off of each play and made boisterous dugout chants that could be heard all throughout Colby’s athletic complex.
Messalonkee’s Isabel Culver is tagged out by Skowhegan’s Madalynne Morris during Saturday’s Class A North softball semifinal game in Waterville. David Leaming photo
“Not to make excuses, but when we lost to them a few weeks ago, our bus was late, and that kind of had an impact on how we played,” LePage said. “Today, our energy was just crazy; you could hear us in the dugout with how loud we were. When we bring the energy like that, it translates into our play.”
Now, Skowhegan is back in the regional championship game for the seventh consecutive season. The River Hawks will take on No. 1 Oxford Hills (17-1) in the Class A North final at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the new University of Maine softball complex.
Oxford Hills handed Skowhegan one of its two losses this season just two weeks ago when it defeated the River Hawks in the regular season finale. Skowhegan, though, will be favoring its chances to avenge that loss just as it avenged its prior loss to Messalonskee in this game.
“We’ve been there, and we know we’re going to have to beat a good team when we get there,” Johnson said. “We’re happy that we’re in that spot, and we’re in a good place right now with the way we’re playing. We’re ready for a tough game.”
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