Nokomis High School of Newport posted a 3-0 win over a Belfast team with 11 sophomores and freshmen on its 13-player roster, and the winning coach wanted to talk about the other side.
“They’re going to be tough to beat in the playoffs and I don’t see people beating them the next couple of years,” McLellan, whose Warriors are the defending Class B North champions.
Belfast is currently 10-4 and the Lions’ 10 wins are the most in a season since 2007. They are assured of their first winning season since 2011, taking a large step in a rebuilding process spearheaded by second-year head coach Kevin Gray.
Last season, in their first season under head coach Kevin Gray, they went 8-8 and were seeded sixth in the Class B North Heal Points standings. They lost to third seed Lawrence of Fairfield in the quarterfinals. In the two prior seasons, the Lions went 3-29 combined.
The softball resurgence was 10 years in the making, Gray said. He was among a group that started a youth softball program in Waldo County. Seven of the girls on the Belfast team were a part of that. Gray and assistants Kyle Tripp and B.J. Moore have coached through the ranks.
“We’ve been together for so long, since we were little kids, that we all trust each other to make the plays and everything,” said freshman catcher Kloe Luce. “That’s a big part of it.”
She also said they are dialed in throughout every game.
The eight victories last year along with a season-opening six-game winning streak this spring have given the team a lot of confidence, said sophomore third baseman Gracie Moore.
“We are super young and we are still developing,” said freshman pitcher-shortstop-outfielder Emma Tripp. “We’ve come a long way even from the beginning of the year.”
The Lions can swing the bats throughout the lineup. They have scored at least five runs in 12 of their 14 games including at nine or more in nine of them.
Five of their players are hitting over .400 in center fielder Katience Parenteau (.537), pitcher-shortstop Jordyn MacKay (.511), pitcher-shortstop-outfielder Emma Tripp (.500), Luce (.426) and first baseman Danica Gray (.409). Moore is just under that line at .395. Designated hitter Sophia Larrabee is hitting .368, and left fielder Izzy Bailey is at .316.
Tripp leads the team in runs-batted-in with 24 while Luce and MacKay have 15 each. Parenteau is tops in runs scored with 25 and Gray has 22.
Freshman Morgan Bennett has recently cracked the starting lineup in right field and has made some exceptional plays while also hitting over .300, according to coach Gray. Maggie Metcalf is the second baseman while Gabby Hoffman, the only senior, and sophomores Natalie Barrows and Laura Carpenter are outfielders.
Sophomore MacKay and freshman Tripp have shared the pitching with Gray making one start and picking up a win over Waterville. Tripp is 5-2 with a 2.61 earned-run-average and MacKay is 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA. MacKay was sidelined with shoulder soreness but is back now.
Tripp said he has a lot of pretty versatile players who can play multiple positions and his team is pretty solid defensively especially now that it is getting better outfield play.
Belfast has two games remaining. The Lions will travel to Bangor to play John Bapst on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will conclude the regular season at Mount View of Thorndike next Wednesday at 3:15.
Gray and assistant Tripp said when they began the Waldo County softball program, they were hoping to be able to coach them at the high school level but didn’t know if they would get the opportunity. They did and are making the most of it.
“We’re young, we definitely have some things to work on but we definitely have a good foundation,” Tripp said.
