Mike Carrier is in his 37th season as the head softball coach at Bucksport High School, and he said this is probably the youngest team he has ever had.
But that doesn’t mean his Golden Bucks aren’t in the mix for a regional or state Class C championship.
“We’re very young but we’re very talented. We have some great athletes,” said the 66-year-old Carrier.
Every player in the infield, including the pitcher and catcher, are first-year starters at their positions. One of the reasons his team is so young is because four starters who could have returned this season decided not to. Two have joined the track team; one moved away and another left school, Carrier said.
One of the players who joined the track team is senior Alyssa Maguire, who was an All-Penobscot Valley Conference Class C first team shortstop and the Bucks’ cleanup hitter a year ago.
Those departures have opened up some opportunities for younger players.
“They’re a very good group. They all get along. They’re happy and they all want to learn the game,” said Carrier, whose Bucks won their first four games by a combined score of 37-11.
Junior Ella Hosford, who is their No. 1 pitcher, was the starting second baseman last season.
Catcher Ella Shook and first baseman Brooke Elden are freshmen, and second baseman Lily Chiavelli, shortstop Sam Cyr, and third baseman Makenzie Gerow are sophomores.
Cyr played left field last season.
The two returning starters who will play the same position they played a year ago are senior center fielder Emma Freeman and junior right fielder Allie Pickering.
Senior Faith Vincent has returned to the team after not playing the last two years and she is the starting left fielder.
Sophomore Jayden Tripp is the designated player who hits for Gerow because Gerow is nursing a shoulder injury that limits her ability to swing a bat.
Naomi Bragg is a sophomore utility player; Kaitlynn Flannery is a freshman infielder; and Natalie Simpson, who is also a freshman, is a pitcher.
The Bucks will be looking for their first regional championship since 2017, which is when they also captured their fourth Class C state championship in six years. They previously triumphed in 2015, ’13 and ’12 and lost to Madison in the 2016 state title game.
The Bucks have been eliminated in the semifinals the last two seasons by eventual regional champ Dexter and lost to Narraguagus of Harrington in the 2018 regional championship game.
Bucksport’s regular season record the past 11 seasons, including this season, is an impressive 149-15.
“This team has the potential to be one of the best offensive teams I’ve ever had,” said Carrier. “They have been swinging the bats real well. We may have had better individual hitters in the past but everyone in our lineup, one through nine, can hit. And we have real good speed.”
Hosford is the leadoff hitter and was an All-PVC Class C first team second baseman a year ago.
Hosford hit around .695 a year ago, according to Carrier, and she is very quick.
Pickering and Vincent have hit well and Shook hit five or six homers in summer league ball a year ago, according to Carrier.
Carrier said he has been surprised how well Vincent has played offensively and defensively after not playing her junior and sophomore seasons.
“She’s a great athlete. I’m glad she came out,” he said.
Hosford has pitched all three games and has been impressive.
“She’s the real deal. She throws hard. She has a lot of strikeouts and has walked only a couple of hitters,” Carrier said.
She has been tutored by pitching guru Rick Roberts, the pitching coach at Bangor’s Husson University.
The one aspect of their game where improvement is needed is defense.
“We’re still struggling with errors because we’re a young team. But that’s going to happen,” Carrier said.
He does expect them to continue to improve defensively as they get more playing time.
Bucksport was scheduled to play Dexter on Friday, weather permitting.