RICHMOND — Having not played in nearly two weeks, Richmond High School softball coach Rick Coughlin worried that his team’s sharpness might not be there when the top-seeded Bobcats hosted No. 4 Vinalhaven/ North Haven in a Western Maine Class D semifinal on Friday.
After the first two Richmond hitters were retired, the longtime coach admitted he was still worried.
But, from there, the Bobcats did a ton of damage, scoring seven runs with two outs in the opening inning en route to a 14-2 win and a berth in Tuesday’s Regional final at St. Joseph’s College against No. 2 Searsport at 3 p.m. (a 10-9 semifinal winner over Rangeley).
“The first inning was a huge boost for us,” said Coughlin.
Sydney Tilton led Richmond’s 12-hit attack with three singles, while Kelsea Anair launched a home run and Kelsie Obi tripled. Kalah Patterson, Camryn Hurley and Emily Douin each contributed two singles. Autumn Acord and Hurley drove in three runs apiece.
On the mound, Meranda Martin struck out six, walked one and permitted six hits for the win.
Bailey Wadleigh singled and doubled for Vinalhaven/ North Haven, with Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes adding a pair of singles. Ashley and Gilleyanne Davis-Oakes shared the pitching load, combining on seven walks and one strikeout.
Baseball
Mike Stewart’s RBI double in the fifth inning gave topseeded Richmond a 4-3 Western
D semifinal win over No. 5 Valley on Saturday in Richmond.
Down 3-2 through four, the Bobcats (15-3) rallied in the fifth with two outs. Brendan Emmons tripled and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. After Tyler Soucy reached on an error and stole two bases, Stewart delivered the goahead run.
“This is a big win for this group,” said Richmond coach Ryan Gardner, whose Bobcats will face No. 2 Searsport, a 3-2 semifinal winner over Buckfield, on Tuesday at St. Joseph’s College in Standish for the Regional title. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. “We are carrying six freshmen, and we just got back Bailey (Johansen, out for a month with a broken foot). This is great for the kids to get that experience at playing at St. Joe’s.”
Zach Small pitched the first three-plus innings for Richmond. He struck out four, walked three and allowed three hits. Stewart relieved, and after allowing a run to score on a wild pitch, shut down Valley (9-6) the rest of the way, permitting just one hit and two walks with five strikeouts.
Small and Johansen each singled for Richmond, which lost its lone meeting to Searsport, 3-0, on May 26.
Cody Laweryson doubled and pitched well for Valley, with four hits, nine strikeouts and two walks.
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