In softball, teams can never have enough pitching.

That fact is evident when looking at the depth of arms Bangor, Brewer and Hampden Academy will feature this spring in the KVAC North ranks.

As has been the case over the last decade or so, the Rams, Witches and Broncos will be legitimate contenders in Class A, with all three teams possessing solid pitching depth that could take them deep into postseason.

Coach Rodney Wells’ Hampden team fields two seasoned veterans in senior righthanders Lacey Littlefield and Michelle Wells, who are among seven seniors the Broncos will return from last year’s team that fell to eventual regional champ Skowhegan in the quarterfinals.

“We have a solid mix of veterans and newcomers,” said Wells, whose other returning vets are Morgan Doyon, Ashley Gott, Eva Shannon, Kate Plowman and Kasey Belcher.

Both Littlefield and Wells feature an assortment of breaking pitches to go with the fastball, which will be essential since “the days of throwing the ball by the batters are over,” according to Rodney Wells.

“If you’re not able to move the ball around and change speeds, you’re not going to be successful,” he said.

If there is one thing that has been consistent in Class A over the last few years, it’s that good pitching usually beats good hitting, meaning timely hitting and error-free defense will prove crucial.

“A lot of times the difference in the games the past few years is a timely hit,” Wells said.

With that being the case, there’s a great chance fans are going to see a lot of close games this spring.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a game that’s going to be won by more than one run,” said Bangor coach Don Stanhope, whose Rams boast three solid pitchers in seniors Sam Bess and Amy Wadleigh, both of whom had earned run averages around 1.00 last season, along with sophomore Sam Bedore.

They’ll be eyeing a better finish this spring after falling in the preliminary round to Lawrence of Fairfield a year ago.

“In Bangor every year we expect to win. That’s what we say, right?” he said. “We expect to do very well this year.”

Bangor has a solid infield led by senior shortstop Amy Hackett and junior Erin Dean behind the plate with fleet-footed Nicole Stairs keying the outfield.

The Rams have the depth and experience to be very strong pitching-wise while Stanhope expects them to be sound defensively.

“Defense is certainly key, we’ve traditionally been a strong fielding team,” he said.

Stanhope noted that the days of a dominating 14-1 or 15-0 type team are over, and whichever team gets on a roll at the right time could be dangerous come playoff time, as was the case with Skowhegan a year ago.

Brewer was a victim of such a run last year, as coach Harry “Skip” Estes’ Witches were ousted from the postseason in the semifinals by a red-hot Cony of Augusta team that eventually fell to the Indians in the Eastern Maine final.

Brewer will have the tough task of replacing top-notch pitcher Jordan McLain, but Estes has a formidable nucleus coming back.

The Witches have a talented senior class in Dominique DeFilipp, Katie Kenney, Sarah Risser and Jamie Knowles, along with juniors Leah Jackson, Meghan McLain, Allie DeFilipp and Emily Fraser.

Even though the Witches have some question marks in the pitching ranks, according to Estes, they should be solid at the plate.

“We should be a fairly decent hitting team. Our team was very strong with the bats last year,” Estes said. “We’ll have a good mixture of what I call power hitting and [of] what I call short game.”

Allie DeFilipp, along with sophomores Melanie Judkins and Amanda Ryan, will comprise of Brewer’s pitching staff while Estes noted he has a lot of athletic players who can excel “at multiple positions.”

The Witches will have some formidable team speed in Risser, who was one of the top sprinters on Brewer’s indoor track and field team this winter, and Dominique DeFilipp, who Estes says is very quick.

With a deep pitching staff, along with speed and power up and down the lineup, this is a team that can’t be taken lightly.

“They’re always tough, a quality program, very well coached,” Stanhope said.

Another team that could be a formidable challenger is Nokomis of Newport, which fields a top-line pitcher in Patrice Cianchette.

Bucks retooling

It’s never easy to replace eight graduating starters in any sport.

That’s the scenario Bucksport softball coach Michael Carrier will face this spring.

The Golden Bucks, who reached the Eastern Maine Class B championship game before falling to Winslow in 2007, only return one starter from that squad.

The good news for Carrier is that starter is pitcher Keely Sullivan. However, she’ll have to fill the big shoes of Terren Hall, now pitching at the University of Maine.

“She’ll be number one, she’ll do quite well this year,” said Carrier. “We’re pretty young, we’ve got a lot of stuff to work on.”

The Bucks will feature three other young pitchers who could see some time in the circle in sophomores Katie Denning and Sarah Sutherland along with freshman Abby Yeo.

As far as what positions kids are going to play, Carrier has yet to figure that out.

“I don’t know where anybody’s going to play,” said Carrier. “We’re going to work them all around, working people all over the place and see what we’ve got.”

Sullivan will feature “basically everything,” Carrier said, and will look to mix her pitches while the Bucks will try to manufacture runs on the offensive end.

“We’ll do OK. This is going to be an interesting year,” said Carrier.

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