Frosh ace Libby pitches Hawks past Devils

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BREWER – Sacopee Valley couldn’t have asked for a better effort from ace pitcher Michelle Libby. The freshman threw a two-hitter, striking out 13 and walking one, in Monday evening’s state Class C softball championship game against Central of Corinth.

But for Libby, the Hawks’ hitting was just as impressive.

“Our bats really helped us,” she said. “As long as we keep hitting, we’re gonna score, and that’s what counts.”

Sacopee of Hiram managed only six hits, but putting the ball into play at all was enough. The Hawks took advantage of several Central miscues, earning a 6-1 victory over the Red Devils at Coffin Field.

It was Sacopee’s first state championship appearance since 1987, when the Hawks successfully defended their 1986 state title. Central hadn’t been this far since 1985, when the Devils also won the state title.

The Hawks wrapped up their season at 19-1 with their one loss to traditional power St. Dominic of Lewiston.

“This is just really satisfying,” Libby said. “It’s very exciting.”

Central finished a stellar 18-2, but the Devils looked shaky in the field from the outset.

The Hawks took an early lead when Elyse White hit a two-out single to left-center, stole second, and scored on an error as Central catcher Shawna Bell tried to throw out White at second. There were no Red Devils covering the base, and the ball rolled into center field.

“Jitters got the best of us tonight,” said Central coach Durice Washburn. “We made some mistakes that we don’t normally make. … We didn’t play up to our potential tonight. We don’t usually make that many mistakes in a game, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about them.”

Only one of Sacopee’s runs was earned.

Central tied it in the second thanks to two Sacopee errors, but the Hawks rebounded with a run in the fourth and two in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Libby hit a sharp line drive to left for an RBI double in the fifth inning to help the Hawks take a 3-1 lead.

White finished with two singles and scored two runs.

Libby (14-0) struck out seven in the final three innings. The Devils had runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Libby struck out the side to end the threat.

“I think she throws a little harder, maybe she has a little more movement on her pitch than what we’ve seen,” Washburn said. “I think when we got behind, it set us back a little bit and that’s the way it went. … We tried to move [baserunners], but it just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Libby said she tried to work the corners.

“The low and outside really helped. That worked a lot. The batters couldn’t reach it.”

Central pitcher Shauna Smith walked three and struck out three to go to 16-2.

The Devils stranded six baserunners. Bell and Nikki Daniel each singled for Central.

HAWKS 6, RED DEVILS 1

Sacopee Valley (19-1) Central (18-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

DeLea, ss 4 0 1 0 Rollins, 3b 4 0 0

Mixer, cf 3 1 0 0 Harvey, cf 3 0 0

White, 3b 4 2 2 0 Labbe, ss 2 0 0

M. Libby, p 3 0 1 1 Bell, c 3 0 1 0

b-Donovan 0 1 0 0 Trafton, rf 3 0 0

F. Libby, 1b 3 0 0 0 Underhill, 2b 3 0 0

Pike, c 4 0 1 1 Mitchell, lf 1 0 0

a-Stacey 0 0 0 0 Jones, lf 2 0 0

Federico, dh 4 0 0 0 N. Daniel, 1b 2 1 0

Reynolds, rf 0 0 0 0 c-Griffiths 1 0 0

Day, 2b 3 2 1 0 S. Daniel, dh 0 0 0

Verrill, lf 2 0 0 0 d-Parent 1 0 0

Totals 30 6 6 2 Totals 25 1 2 0

a-ran for Pike in 2nd, 5th; b-ran for M. Libby in 3rd, 5th; c-struck out for N. Daniel in 7th; d-grounded out for S. Daniel in 7th

Sacopee Valley 100 122 0 ? 6

Central 001 000 0 ? 1

E?Pike, DeLea, F. Libby; Smith, Labbe 2, Bell 2, Rollins, Trafton; LOB?Sacopee 3, Central 6; 2B?M. Libby; S?Verrill; S. Daniel, Labbe; SB?White

Sacopee Valley IP H R ER BB SO

M. Libby (W, 14-0) 7 2 1 0 1 13

Central IP H R ER BB SO

Smith (L, 16-2) 7 6 6 1 3 3

PB?Bell; T?1:39; ATT?300 (est.)