Eyes of the Wild Ones upon Texas

Wild Ones player-coach Julie Treadwell of Pittsfield has fond memories of last year’s Amateur Softball Association national tournament in Arizona. Today, she’s making tentative reservations for Texas.

Most of the Wild Ones have been with the team for about 10 years. That may be why they’re the top Class B team in the state. Although the next stop for the state champs is the New England tournament in Portsmouth, N.H., Aug. 13-15, all eyes are on Texas because three teams from the New Englands advance to the nationals.

Loyalty is a major factor in this team’s success. “We’ve been together so long, you know what people want to do and how they want to do it,” Treadwell said of everything from plays to plans.

Adult summer softball, played by hundreds of men and women of all ages, has more rewards than playing and keeping fit. Just ask Treadwell.

“We got a bye our first game, won our second and were looking at playing on Saturday,” she recalled about last year in Arizona. “We said we were never even going to get to see the Grand Canyon, an hour and a half away.”

Saturday, the team lost in the morning and again in the afternoon. At that point, they’d been playing in 105-degree heat and wondered if they really wanted to drive the hour and a half.

Someone said they might never have the chance again. Others worried that they might not make it before dark. But they piled into two Suburbans and took off.

“We got there just before the sun went down,” Treadwell said. “I will never see that again. It was just amazing.

“You see it here and there, maybe on television, but, hey, that is something. I could not believe it. We were so glad we went. The team had its picture taken. I have it on a calendar. It’s wonderful.”

“Wild Ones” conjures up all sorts of images, but probably not this team’s logo: Maine wild blueberries. Player Annie Allen, the lady in charge of fund-raising, had a hand in the design. Similar to T-shirts and shorts, Treadwell said, these “are a bit special” with the stitching of Wild Ones above wild Maine blueberries.

Hoping for a third visit to a national tournament, Treadwell said the first one, two years ago in Salem, Ore., was an “awakening” experience.

“It was so exciting. Here I was, 29 years old, and I felt like a little kid. On the flight, we were gabbing and meeting all kinds of people. But once we got there, we had our hat handed to us and lost two games straight.

“We watched a lot of games, then went to the West Coast. But it does make you realize what kind of competition you face at this level.”

The Wild Ones are part of the tough Hermon league that produced several champions and runnersup in the three classes of Maine women’s softball: B, C and D.

Being a top team in the highest division does have its pitfalls. Sometimes teams simply don’t want to play you. But the Wild Ones have good rivalries to the south, and in the New Englands they usually meet foes from the Westbrook-Portland and Brunswick areas.

Most of the players are from Eastern Maine, but some, like Cheryl Rich, commute. A former Bangor resident, Rich teaches and coaches at Edward Little High School in Auburn.

Players pay to compete, but this year the Wild Ones doubled their dues from $25 to $50. “We do a lot of fund-raising, as do other teams,” Treadwell said, “but we felt we needed to cover regular-season expenses and get a jump on things, looking at Texas and all.”

Although Treadwell is concentrating on Portsmouth right now, her long-term plan “is to pick up another cup” in September.

That was her introduction to coaching in a highly organized national tournament. “The community really makes you feel very welcome,” she said. “The coaches and umpires meet the first morning at a breakfast. The mayor is there. It is done very well. All 60 coaches are there. They have these cups, like coffee cups, lined up. You pick up a cup, and it shows if you’re the home or away team, and what game you’ll be playing in. It’s fun.”