Edward Little High School of Auburn, Bucksport and Penobscot Valley High of Howland joined Hermon as North Regional softball titlists on Tuesday.
Seventh seed Edward Little beat top seed Bangor 4-1 in the Class A final, top seed Hermon edged Old Town 6-4 in Class B, top seed Bucksport beat No. 2 Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln 5-1 in Class C, and second seed Penobscot Valley rallied for a 3-2 win over fifth seed Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in Class D.
The state championship games will be Saturday with the Class A and Class C games being played at St. Joseph’s College in Standish, and the Class B and Class D contests being played at the Pierre and Catherine Labat Softball Complex at the University of Maine in Orono.
The C and D games will start at 12:30 p.m. with 18-1 Bucksport taking on defending four-time state champ Hall-Dale of Farmingdale, 17-2, followed by 17-0 Penobscot Valley facing either 17-1 Buckfield or 15-3 North Yarmouth Academy, the defending two-time state titlist.
Buckfield and NYA had Tuesday’s game suspended by rain in the third inning so they had to replay the game on Wednesday afternoon.
The A and B games will begin at 4 p.m. with Hermon, 17-2, taking on 16-3 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro and Edward Little, 13-6, facing 17-2 Windham.
In the Class A North final, senior Kassidy Lobb and sophomore Chloe LeBlanc teamed up on a three-hitter and the Red Eddies received two hits apiece from Lexi Kelsea, Elizabeth Galway and Kylee LeBrun to win their first regional title since 1997.
One of Galway’s hits was a double.
Edward Little has now won six in a row, including playoff wins over top three seeds Bangor, No. 2 and defending two-time regional champ Oxford Hills of South Paris, 7-4, and third seed Brewer, 7-4 in eight innings.
Bangor scored its only run in the first inning when Gabby Goding singled and eventually scored on Abby Folsom’s base hit.
Bangor pitcher Emma Tripp went the distance, allowing nine hits while striking out nine and walking three. She also singled.
The Rams finished at 14-5 after winning only two games a year ago.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Bangor coach Sophia Sciarappa. “Obviously not the outcome we wanted but they battled hard.”
In the Class C North championship game, Miss Maine softball finalist Natalie Simpson threw a seven-hitter, striking out 14 and not walking anyone, to lead the Bucks to their third straight regional championship.
The Bucks have not allowed more than two runs in a game all season long.
She was also one of six Bucks who had a single along with Lexi Raymond, Alivia Shute, Addison Harvey, Jetta Shook and Brianna Rotella.
Julianna Cloukey allowed six hits for Mattanawcook Academy with 10 strikeouts and five walks.
Addison Cyr had two base hits for the 15-4 Lynx. Cloukey and Riley Irish each doubled and Kalisto Lazo, Gabby Tash and Grace Pelkey each had a base hit.
In the Class D final, Abby Farley and Lila Cummings hit inside-the-park homers in the third inning to lead the Howlers to their first regional title since 2019.
Southern Aroostook, which wound up 12-6, had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the third on run-scoring singles by Hope Curry and Skyla Lewis.
Farley tied it with her two-run homer following a walk to eighth-grader Paxtyn King and Cummings broke the tie later in the inning.
Lauren Veino picked up the win with a complete game four-hitter. She struck out 13.
Farley also had a single to go with her homer.
“She pitched a great game,” said PVHS head coach Jessica McKechnie, who is assisted by her daughters Leine and Kortney.
“I was very proud of the girls. They did what they needed to do. They fell behind but they responded. They’ve worked hard for this,” McKechnie said.
Lefty Brooke Shields pitched very well in defeat, allowing only three hits.
PVHS will be seeking its third schoolgirl state title this school year as the soccer and basketball teams have already captured championships.
