BREWER – Bucksport senior Jessie Taylor is known for her ability to get on base and her speed once she’s there. That’s part of the reason she was recently named the Gatorade Player of the Year in high school softball.

With the bases loaded in the fifth inning of a scoreless Eastern Maine Class B championship game against No. 2 Winslow, Taylor showed why she’s the Bucks’ leadoff batter.

Taylor took a pitch in the back, allowing pinch runner Brittni Adams to score from third base, for the winning run in the No. 1 Golden Bucks’ 1-0 victory over the Black Raiders Tuesday night at Coffin Field.

“The biggest thing we talked about before the game was, we need baserunners, however we got on,” said Taylor.

The second baseman was also part of two key double plays, including one that ended the game, to send Bucksport to the Class B state championship game against No. 5 Gray-New Gloucester, which knocked off No. 2 Maranacook of Readfield 4-1 in the Western Maine final. That game will be played at Gorham High Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Bucks go to 18-1, while Winslow ends its season at 15-4.

Bucksport pitcher Nikki Smith held the Raiders to three hits, while Winslow’s Beth Lafountain limited the Bucks to four.

One of those, a Jen Murauckas hit, sparked Bucksport’s victorious inning. She hit a one-out single that dropped into shallow right. Pinch runner Adams got to second on a fielding error that allowed Jill Richards to reach, and both runners moved up on a groundout.

Smith drew a walk to load the bases, and with a 1-2 count Lafountain hit Taylor.

“I can still feel it,” said Taylor, pointing to a spot on the right side of her back. “It was a good one. … [The pitch] was high and inside, so it was like, sure.”

Lafountain said the youthful and relatively inexperienced Raiders were nervous coming into the game, and that may have contributed to their fifth-inning struggles.

“There were players on base and I was trying my hardest, but I think I was trying a little too hard to get it over the plate,” said Lafountain, who was 15-0 entering the game.

Smith (16-1) finished with six strikeouts and one walk. She utilized her changeup to get a huge strikeout in the sixth with runners on second and third. That was the second out of the inning, and a groundout ended the Raiders’ best scoring chance.

“Fast, drop and change today,” Smith said. “I just needed to relax, and Jessie helped me out a lot [with the double plays].”

The Black Raiders stranded seven runners and got a baserunner to third in the third inning, but the Bucks threw her out.

Bucksport’s Elissa Gordon hit a one-out double in the sixth and got to third on a passed ball, but the Raiders got two flyouts to end the inning. Alice Andrews and Tara Tweedie singled for the Golden Bucks.

Amanda Roy, Sarah Roderigue and Amanda Kimball each hit a single for Winslow.

GOLDEN BUCKS 1, BLACK RAIDERS 0

Winslow (15-4) Bucksport (18-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Shorette, ss 3 0 0 0 Taylor, 2b 2 0 0

Morin, c 2 0 0 0 Andrews, c 2 0 0

Lafountain, p 1 0 0 0 Tweedie, cf 3 0

Roy, ss 2 0 1 0 Gordon, 3b 3 0 0

Boutin, 3b 3 0 0 0 Damon, rf 3 0 0

Roderigue, cf 3 0 1 0 Murauckas, 1b 3 0

Denis, 1b 3 0 0 0 a-Adams 0 1 0 0

Byrne, 2b 3 0 0 0 Richards, ss 2 0 0

c-Sirois 0 0 0 0 McAllian, lf 2 0 0

Kimball, dh 3 0 1 0 Smith, p 1 0 0

Albert, rf 0 0 0 0 b-MacDonald 0 0 0

Totals 23 0 3 0 Totals 21 1 4 0

a-ran for Murauckas in the 5th; b-ran for Smith in the 5th; c-ran for Byrne in the 7th

Winslow 000 000 0 ? 0

Bucksport 000 010 x ? 1

E?Boutin; Murauckas, Smith, Damon; LOB?Winslow 7, Bucksport 5; 2B?Gordon; DP?Taylor unassisted; Gordon-Taylor; S?Morin; SB?Roy

Winslow IP H R ER BB SO

Lafountain (L,15-1) 6 4 1 0 2 1

Bucksport IP H R ER BB SO

Smith (W,16-1) 7 3 0 0 1 6

HBP?Taylor by Lafountain; Lafountain, Roy by Smith; PB?Morin; Andrews; T?1:27; ATT?200 (est.)

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BOB DELONG

Bucksport pitcher Nikki Smith winds up to deliver a pitch during Tuesday’s Eastern Maine Class B championship game. Smith gave up three hits in a 1-0 Bucksport victory over Winslow.