Healthy Agouab contributing to Brewer success

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BREWER – The Brewer softball team gathered Monday at Coffin Field for practice, the seniors still reveling in their first playoff win Saturday and a chance for the school’s first Eastern Maine title in 19 years.

For second baseman Sara Agouab, the Witches’ success this season may be even more special.

Agouab is coming off a junior season in which she had surgery on her right shoulder and sat out the season while she underwent therapy. Softball is her favorite sport, and the .400 hitter was on the bench.

But Saturday, a nearly healed Agouab went 3-for-4 with two singles and an RBI triple in Brewer’s 5-4 semifinal victory over Bangor.

Agouab’s shoulder is still sore. She had some trouble adjusting to a new position at the start of the season. But the University of Southern Maine-bound Agouab is hitting .450, she’s complemented the already solid Brewer defense, and the Witches play today for the Class A regional championship.

“I don’t care if it hurts. This is why I had surgery, right here, to come this far,” Agouab said as she laced up her cleats for practice. “I’m so glad we did, and I’m so excited.”

The Witches will face No. 2 Messalonskee of Oakland in a 3 p.m. game at Brewer’s Coffin Field, the predetermined site for all four regional title games. Today’s EM Class C final will start at 7 p.m.

The Class B and Class D regional finals will be held Wednesday, also at Coffin Field, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

Agouab’s shoulder had bothered her while she was the catcher on the junior varsity team as a freshman and again when she was a designated hitter with the varsity as a sophomore.

Agouab finally went to the doctor during the 1998-99 indoor track season, when her shoulder hurt so bad that she couldn’t shot put anymore.

She was surprised to hear the results of a magnetic resonance imaging test: Because she is too flexible, her rotator cuff was torn, her shoulder was partially dislocated and the muscle in her shoulder was detached from the bone.

Facing the possibility of not playing again, Agouab had her operation in April 1999.

“In my 18 years so far, having surgery has been my biggest devastation,” she said. “It was really hard. I sat in a big, humongous sling and everyone was playing. I was sad.”

Agouab played field hockey last fall and returned to indoor track in the winter, but weightlifting was still painful.

Then came time for softball. Agouab was determined to play, but it would involve learning a new position and dealing with the frustration of not being able to throw as hard as she could before the surgery.

Initially, she was going to play in the outfield. Then, when her close friend and teammate Erika Corey decided to do outdoor track and field instead of softball, the second base position opened.

Agouab depended on shortstop Allison Wing to help her out, and meshed well with first baseman Sarah Smith, who was also new to her position.

“[Brewer coach Kelly Cookson] moved me around a lot at the beginning of the season, but I kinda wanted one position to be my position,” Agouab said. “I was OK with [playing second base], but I had no idea what I was doing. I was so bad. I never got my timing down. But coach was supportive, she gave me a chance even though I wasn’t that good at the beginning of the season.”

Agouab has turned her defense around, although she did have an error in Saturday’s game. Her offense has sparkled. She has driven in 17 runs this year, third-best on the team, and has one of the highest batting averages on a team with six starters hitting better than .400.

“She’s always been a great hitter and that’s what we missed most about her last year, having her in the lineup,” Kelly Cookson said. “It took her a while to get back into it … but she’s really come through and has done an outstanding job at second base and at the plate.”

Class A hockey divides ranks

If two is company and three is a crowd, what is 23?

That is how many teams have been playing in one league in Class A high school hockey in Maine over the past several years.

But that will change next winter.

With open tournaments being held for the first time, the Maine Principals’ Association has split the teams into North and South divisions.

MPA assistant executive director Larry LaBrie said the Ice Hockey Committee recommended the move on March 13 and the Classification Committee split the 23 teams into two divisions on the same day. He said the membership approved the division at the end of April.

LaBrie agrees with the change.

“It would have taken too long to hold the preliminaries,” said LaBrie. “This makes it a workable scheme. Plus we’ve added regional championship games.”

Class A North comprises Bangor, Brewer, Brunswick, Cony of Augusta, Edward Little of Auburn, Bangor’s John Bapst High School, Lawrence of Fairfield, Lewiston, Mount Ararat of Topsham, Skowhegan, and Waterville.

The South will be made up of Biddeford, Bonny Eagle of Buxton, Cheverus of Portland, Deering of Portland, Massabesic of Waterboro, North Yarmouth Academy, Portland, St. Dominic of Lewiston, Sanford, South Portland, Thornton Academy of Saco, and Westbrook.

St. Dom’s, Lewiston, Waterville, and North Yarmouth Academy are the only schools in recent years to have won state Class A championships and each division will contain two of them.

“The classification committee tried to split the power,” said LaBrie. “I think it’s going to be great. It provides balance.”

The top four teams in each division will receive byes into the quarterfinals like they will in the other sports, according to LaBrie.