The Nokomis High School girls softball team from Newport captured its first ever state championship a year ago behind All-KVAC first team pitcher and Miss Maine Softball finalist Mia Coots.
Coots tossed a two-hitter in the 2-1 victory over York in the state Class B championship game that avenged a 2-1 loss to York in the 2023 state title game.
Coots is currently having an outstanding freshman season at the University of Southern Maine and it is her younger sister, Hallie, who has inherited the No. 1 role in the pitching circle for Nokomis after catching her sister’s deliveries a year ago.
The sophomore pitcher is backed by a veteran lineup as the Warriors seek to defend their state title and two straight regional titles, the first two in program history.
Hallie Coots doesn’t throw as hard as her sister and throws a lot of off-speed pitches, said head coach J.D. McLellan. But he noted that the younger Coots “throws strikes and with my defense as good as it is, if we can get some fly balls and ground balls and not let them hit it square, we should be pretty good.”
McLellan said Hallie Coots has been throwing “really well” but he isn’t expecting her to hold teams to two runs or less like her sister did 17 times in 20 games a year ago.
“Last year we could win games by scoring two runs. This year it will be four runs,” McLellan said.
And he feels his team is capable of doing so.
“Most of our team is back,” said McLellan, whose team opened with a 10-0 victory over Lawrence of Fairfield on April 30.
He expects his team to be “very strong” offensively.
Junior shortstop Raegan King is the lead-off hitter and one of the catalysts.
“She is an unbelievable hitter who can hit with power,” said McLellan.
King has moved over to shortstop from second base.
Senior first baseman Addison Hawthorne, senior third baseman Jenna Sawtelle and sophomore left fielder Makenzie Watson are also expected to be productive hitters along with Coots.
And McLellan pointed out that even the hitters in the bottom of the order are “pretty good.”
Sawtelle was the shortstop last year and has slid over to third, “where she should be” according to McLellan.
Joining Watson in the experienced outfield are sophomore center fielder Annie Nyce and senior right fielder Kiersten Condon.
Junior Leah Tasker is the designated hitter, sophomore Delanie Randlett is the second baseman and newcomer Hannah Brewer is the catcher. Brewer is a senior.
Hawthorne and Watson are also pitchers.
Hawthorne has a drop ball and a “great change-up” according to McLellan. Hawthorne had a run-scoring triple and scored on an error in the state game a year ago.
McLellan said Watson “puts fastballs on the corners and will throw a change every so often” along with a curveball.
McLellan is in his 22nd season coaching the Warriors and has led them to a 45-3 regular season record the previous three seasons and to at least 10 wins in nine of the last 12 seasons.
He said one of the biggest reasons for his success is his coaching staff comprised of Adam King and Whitney Guy.
“You have to have a real good staff to keep a good team going. I’m extremely lucky that way,” said McLellan.
