BREWER – Three times in the third inning of Thursday’s Eastern Maine Class A championship game, the Leavitt softball team hit solid, well-placed shots to the outfield. And three times an Oxford Hills outfielder came up with a great catch.

Even though the Hornets of Turner didn’t register a hit in the inning, the strong effort at the plate seemed to portend what was to come.

Leavitt pounded out 11 hits and sophomore lefty Sam St. Hilaire threw a two-hit shutout as the Hornets rolled to an 8-0 victory over the Vikings of South Paris at Coffin Field.

It was Leavitt’s first regional softball title since the school won the Western Maine Class B championship in 1985. The 15-5 Hornets will face the Western Maine champion Saturday at St. Joseph’s College in Standish for the Class A state crown.

“We were really pumped up because we’ve been playing so well in the playoffs,” St. Hilaire said. “We’re hitting well, we’re not committing any errors.”

Oxford Hills, the winner of state titles in 1998 and 1999, closes its season with a 16-4 record.

St. Hilaire struck out 10 and did not allow a walk. The Vikings couldn’t get a base runner past second base.

“I was trying to work on the corners and change speeds, work it up and down in the zone,” she said.

While St. Hilaire was pitching – and the Hornets were playing error-free softball behind her – Leavitt scored three runs in the fourth and piled on five more in the fifth. Leavitt hit well, but Vikings errors played a part, too.

In the fourth inning, Darlene Perry reached on an error in the outfield and went to third on Randi Dumont’s single. She came home on a single by Melissa Veilleux, who got to second on a throw.

With Dumont on third and Veilleux at second, Oxford Hills pitcher Jessie Dennis ran the count full on Amy Myrand, the eighth hitter in the order.

Myrand blasted a fastball into center field, over the head of outfielder Danielle Robertson, driving in the two baserunners.

“I never used to hit off her very good, but I just felt that we could do it today and we did,” said Myrand, a junior who had two singles to go with her triple. “I just went after it. I had full count so it was just swing or not. It felt like a good hit.”

The two teams split in the regular season, and the Vikings were expecting the Hornets to bring a lot of offense.

“They were obviously making contact and we were fortunate to come up with big plays in that [third] inning,” OH coach Cindy Goddard said. “It was just a matter of time before they hit the gaps and got the runs they needed. St. Hilaire pitched an excellent game. She kept our top four hitters pretty much off-balance.”

Leavitt batted around in the fifth inning and loaded on five more runs on three singles, a walk and two Oxford Hills errors.

Dumont, Veilleux and Gretchen Conn each singled twice. Ten of the Hornets’ 11 hits came from the Nos. 5 through 9 batters in the order.

Tiffany Seams and Lindsey Piiraninen each singled for Oxford Hills.

HORNETS 8, VIKINGS 0

Leavitt (15-5) Oxford Hills (16-4)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Pratt, rf 5 0 0 1 Seams, 2b 3 0 0

St. Hilaire, p 3 1 0 0 Decato, 1b 3 0

Healy, 3b 5 1 1 0 Turner, rf 2 0 0

Perry, ss 4 2 0 0 Dennis, p 3 0 0

Conn, 1b 4 1 2 1 Piiraninen, lf 2 0 0

Dumont, dh 4 2 2 2 d-Grover 1 0 0

Paradie, lf 0 0 0 0 Craib, dh 2 0 0

Veilleux, 2b 2 1 2 1 Cummings, 3b 0 0 0

b-Trottier 0 0 0 1 Robertson, cf 2 0 0

Myrand 4 0 3 2 Record, c 2 0 0

Sennett, c 2 0 1 0 Dubois, ss 2 0 0

a-Leonard 2 0 0 0

c-Ellis 0 0 0 0

Totals 35 8 11 8 Totals

a-grounded out for Sennett in the second, reached on an error for Sennett in the fifth; b-walked for Veilleux in the fifth; c-ran for Leonard in the fifth; d-flied out for Piiraninen in the seventh

Leavitt 000 350 0 ? 8

Oxford Hills 000 000 0 ? 0

E?Turner, Cummins, Dubois; LOB?Leavitt 10, Oxford Hills 2; 3B?Myrand; DP?Turner-Record; S?Turner; SB?Piiraninen

Leavitt IP H R ER BB SO

St. Hilaire (9-4) 7 2 0 0 0 10

Oxford Hills IP H R ER BB SO

Dennis (15-4) 7 11 8 4 3 2

HBP?St. Hilaire by Dennis; T?1:28; ATT?150 (est.)