PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Just barely hitting the midway point of the season, it has been a good ride for the Wildcat softball team.
PI opened its slate by getting swept in a doubleheader at Old Town April 25, but since then has won six in a row, outscoring the opposition 98-34 during the streak.
Third-year coach Terry Cummings pointed to a road contest against Mount Desert Island May 2 as the point when things started to come together for his Wildcats. It was the first game of a doubleheader and PI trailed by four runs entering the seventh inning.
“Everything clicked as we executed to perfection a couple of bunts, a couple suicide squeezes and before you knew it, we had the lead,” Cumming said.
Presque Isle scored 12 times in the frame and came away with a 14-6 victory. The team went on to take the second game as well and haven’t looked back since.
“Offensively, we have been hitting the ball really well,” Cummings added, “and defensively we continue to improve and have turned a number of double plays. We talk everyday about how we need 21 outs each game and we take it one pitch at a time.
“We want to have a relentless, focused and fearless attitude to overcome all the distractions and circumstances, and we want to continue to get better and see how long we can keep this streak going,” he said.
The Wildcats made it into the Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinals a year ago, falling to No. 1 Gardiner in the quarterfinals. Two starters, pitcher Carly Bell and shortstop Shea Brown, graduated from that team, but PI did bring back plenty of experienced players this spring.
Senior center fielder Erin Ackerson is among the returnees and Cummings bills her as one of the top defensive players in the region who is also strong at the plate. Classmate Kelsey Gilson assumes the duties as the No. 1 pitcher and worked hard during the off-season to learn the position. She is the team’s clean-up hitter as well and sprays the ball all over the field.
Megan Seward, another senior, is back at third base and bats third in the lineup. Senior Jordi Legassie leads off and is playing second base after spending last year as an outfielder. She has good speed and is batting close to .400 so far. Megan McKnight is another 12th-grader who plays the outfield and has been hitting the ball well as of late, while catcher Jessica Cameron and outfielder Macy Desmond are other seniors who have come up with timely hits for the ’Cats.
The other starters are juniors Hailey Cameron and Jillian Flynn. Cameron has been PI’s leading hitter and anchors the defense at shortstop. She is batting over .600 and has extra-base power, as evidenced by her home run Saturday against John Bapst. Defensively, she “has a great glove, a quick transfer and a cannon for an arm,” according to Cummings.
Flynn plays first base and sees some time behind the plate. She is a lefty who specializes in bunting and is a strong defender.
Juniors Casey Lovely, Faith Leavitt and Amy Seeley give the Wildcats solid depth. Leavitt is the No. 2 pitcher behind Gilson.
Kiara Lyford and Kayla Saucier are the team’s managers and Daren Hunter returns as Cummings’ assistant coach.
