Sumner of East Sullivan has a couple of things going for it as it heads into the 1991 softball tournament as the No. 1 seed in Eastern Maine Class C.

The first is that eight-year head coach Debra Osgood simply won’t let her team rest on its laurels, and the second is that Sullivan is a such a favorite spot of Mother Nature that, should the Tigers continue to win, the odds are the games will be played as scheduled.

When the standings came out mid-May with Sumner undefeated and No. 1, Osgood said she told the girls “for 30 seconds you can enjoy this and then forget it.” Being No. 1 carries a lot of pressure, and her concern that it would affect her team was well-founded. “We’ve never talked about it, really,” she said. “I try to downplay it.”

Osgood said Sumner “went through a hard time right after that” and lost two straight, to Narraguagus of Harrington and Washington Academy of East Machias. “They were scared to lose. It’s hard to be in the limelight, but then they were able to come back and win again.”

Even though Osgood thinks her young team “may be a year away” the fates do seem to shine on the Tigers, especially when they play at home.

“East Sullivan is an exceptional spot,” Osgood said. “It can be raining all around us, but not here. Many, many times officials will be driving here in the rain, sure they will have to call the game and it’s fine here. Our fields are great and they drain well. We have had a couple of rainouts because it was raining too hard, but that doesn’t happen often.”

Surprised to be going into the tournament seeded first, Osgood said Sumner’s strength is three-fold: pitching, catching and shortstop.

Junior pitcher Darci Lane, “is very steady” in the circle. At 12-2, this is her first full season as the No. 1 pitcher.

Catching her is classmate Cindy Alexander, who has only two errors playing nearly every game. Alexander was out for a little over a week when it was thought she might be suffering from apendicitis. She was able to return to action for Sumner’s last game of the regular season.

At shortstop is junior Melissa Nelson, who is especially strong at that position, and a real threat on the basepaths with 25 stolen bases. Freshman right fielder Abby Seward has also come on strong in that department.

Offensively, Osgood relies on Nelson, sophomore Holly Newenham and senior Mindy Tracey along with Seward, the team’s leadoff hitter.

Sumner faces No. 8 Limestone, the defending Eastern Maine champion, in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.

Osgood is “pleasantly surprised and excited” to be going into the tournament No. 1, but recognizes the outcome will depend on the pitching and whether the Tigers can maintain their composure, especially on defense.

“We played Limestone preseason,” she said. “Both of us were pretty shaky, so it’s hard to judge how we’ll match up. But Brent (O’Neal) always brings a good team to the tournament, and they’ll do anything. You just have to be alert when you play Limestone. It should be a good game.”