Hermon High School senior Ashley Kelley has returned to the pitching circle, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Hawks.

Hermon was seeded second in the most recent Class B Heal point softball standings behind Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, and having Kelley back in the fold will certainly boost their already strong chances of making a deep postseason run.

Kelley made her official season debut Wednesday against Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, pitching a three-hitter and striking out nine in a 15-0, five-inning Hermon victory.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was called after an inning due to rain.

Kelley had missed the previous 12 games while recuperating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during a basketball game in February.

“I think that I did well considering it was my first game,” said Kelley. “I still have a lot of improvement to go before I get back to where I was.”

Kelley, who will play for the University of Maine next season, had surgery “about a week and a half” after the injury and had been working with a physical therapist while doing some running and light throwing on the side.

The scary thing for batters in Eastern Maine Class B could be that Kelley’s right knee, the same one she uses to push off the rubber, is close to 100 percent.

“It feels really strong, almost as strong as it was before I was hurt,” Kelley said. “I’m having very minimal pain, if any.”

She added the only time she feels pain is when she gets in a bad position coming off the rubber.

“It’s more like a phantom pain,” Kelley said.

Kelley added it was frustrating early in the season watching the Hawks from the sidelines knowing she couldn’t pitch, but as the season wore on and her knee got stronger, things felt a lot better, and she was on the bench every game cheering on her teammates.

“Every game I was there supporting the team, even though I couldn’t participate,” she said.

While Kelley felt she did a solid job throwing strikes against the Trojans, she knows she has to polish her delivery.

“I’m definitely just working more to get the mechanics down again, get the technique back down,” she explained.

While Kelley was rehabbing, Debbie Colpitts and Jessie Devou did a admirable job of keeping the Hawks near the top of the Class B standings.

“They did excellent,” she said. “The team has gotten us so far and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Kelley struck out four Trojans in the first inning Tuesday – one was on a third-strike passed ball – before the game was called.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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