There are few schools that have had the success in one sport that the Skowhegan High School field hockey program has had with 16 state Class A championships over the past 19 seasons.
But the central Maine school also has a softball program with an impressive track record that any institution would be proud of.
The River Hawk softball team has won eight Class A North titles over the past 14 years and claimed its second state title during that span with a 7-4 victory over Biddeford on Saturday.
It was its third overall state A crown.
The River Hawks snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the seventh on Annabelle Morris’ single, Mariah Whittemore’s double, a run-producing wild pitch and a pair of infield errors.
Callaway LePage and Jaycie Christopher had run-scoring singles earlier in the game for Skowhegan, which also received a complete game from pitcher Sierra Carey.
What was particularly noteworthy about the River Hawks’ success is the fact they had just two seniors and returned only two starters off the 2019 team that lost to Scarborough in the state title game.
And neither of their pitchers had any varsity experience.
Carey is a sophomore and Kiara Warren is a junior who pitched for the junior varsity team in 2019.
Lee Johnson, who has been the head coach since 2000 after spending six seasons as the assistant coach, said he knew his pitchers would do a “real good job, but I didn’t know if they would be at a state championship level. They put in a lot of time. They worked really hard. They threw really well all year.”
Carey, who is more of a power pitcher and started all the playoff games, and Warren, who is a finesse pitcher with good spins, are both tutored by Husson University pitching coach Rick Roberts.
Johnson said the thing that really stuck out about this team is its balance.
“We pitched well, we played really good defense and we could hit throughout the lineup,” Johnson said.
Junior shortstop Christopher, one of two returning starters along with senior third baseman Whittemore, said even though it was an inexperienced team, many on the team had played together since they were 8 years old.
“Everybody did something to contribute every day. We were able to find a way to piece things together and we worked to become the best team we could be, “ Christopher said.
Whittmore said she initially thought it was going to be a rebuilding year but the team built a special bond right away and “we had a lot of good young players” which led her to believe they were going to be serious state title contenders.
In fact, two of the key players in the middle of the diamond were freshman twins Annabelle Morris at center field and her twin, Maddy, at second base.
Annabelle Morris was Skowhgan’s lead-off hitter.
“They’re pretty special players,” Johnson said.
Johnson noted that Whittemore and Christopher were “great leaders” and that leadership played an important role in their success.
They were also the River Hawks’ leading hitters as Christopher hit over .600 and Whittemore hit over .500. Annabelle Morris was a .400-plus hitter.
Junior Emily Dunbar was the catcher and two other juniors, Riley Fitzpatrick and Reese Danforth, started at first base and in left field, respectively.
Senior Logan Wing was the right fielder and sophomore LePage was the designated player.
Johnson said he is fortunate to have a very supportive community and a dedicated bunch of athletes on the team who play multiple sports. Several play summer softball.
“They are well-rounded athletes,” Johnson said.
“For a lot of us, softball isn’t our number one sport but Coach Johnson has created such a great softball community, everyone wants to be a part of it. Former players come to our games. It’s a lot of fun,” Christopher said.
Christopher, who is going to play basketball at Boston University in a couple of years, and Whittemore also acknowledged that success breeds success so they always expect to be a highly competitive team that plays with confidence.
And the River Hawks appear poised to make another title run next year.
While the varsity team will lose just Whittemore and Wing, the school’s junior varsity team went undefeated.