By Emory Rounds

Staff Writer

    It would take a brilliant outing to put away a South
Portland Red Riots softball team picked most likely to represent
western Maine in the state title game this season, and that’s exactly
what Biddeford High School head coach Leon Paquin got out of his young
team on April 21.

    With a lineup completely retooled from the team that
Paquin won a state championship with last season, Biddeford nonetheless
prevailed with a four-run sixth inning rally, breaking out from five
scoreless innings and decisively beating the Red Riots 4-2.

    “Those guys were ready,” said South Portland head
coach Jim Hartman. “They were just more energized and ready to play. We
didn’t have that same sense of urgency. I don’t know what it was, but
we weren’t ready.”

    Despite that, for five innings the Red Riots
certainly played like they were quite ready for the Tigers. South
Portland senior starting pitcher Julie DiMatteo, despite allowing a
Biddeford base runner in every inning but the fifth, struck out five
and managed to keep the Tigers bottled up until the sixth inning.

    Opposing DiMatteo was Biddeford sophomore starter
Savannah Brownell, in her first-ever appearance for the Tigers on
varsity. Brownell was dynamic, also striking out five and giving
Biddeford seven strong innings, a feat particularly impressive after
the Tigers surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third
inning.

    “I just don’t know what to say; it was amazing,”
Brownell said. “We just beat the team that was picked to win states. I
was so nervous. I was just trying to do my best and not throw up. There
wasn’t really a game plan for me. I was just trying to hit my spots and
do my best and believe in myself.”

    Brownell got a huge lift early on, when the Red
Riots led off with a double in the top of the second. With one out,
Kristina Aceto lifted a fly ball to shallow right center field that
looked like it would drop in for a hit. Instead, Biddeford center
fielder Ashley Potvin, in easily the most impressive play of the year
thus far for the Tigers, went into full extension and laid out to make
an amazing run-saving grab. Brownell went on to strike out the final
batter of the inning and end the threat.

    “I have laid out for a ball before, but I haven’t
really made the catch,” Potvin said. “So coming up with the ball was
really exciting. I think it (gave us a lift) because it’s kind of a
point in the game where they had a runner in scoring position and you
knew that shutting them down would be big.”

    In spite of Potvin’s successful grab, the Tigers
were still empty-handed on offense heading into the third inning, and
that’s when a combination of bad luck, slick base running and untimely
errors combined to hand the Riots two runs. Brownell forced a pop-up on
the first at bat, but a ground ball from the next batter was bobbled,
and Christina Aceto’s bouncer toward first base on the next at-bat was
mishandled. Another misplayed ground ball, this time bunted to first,
left the bases loaded.

    Still, it looked like the Tigers might escape from
the inning unharmed when DiMatteo hit a soft roller to first baseman
Nikki Kimborowicz, who promptly threw home for the force out.
Unfortunately, Jamie Harmon would connect with a line drive foul that
kicked off the glove of Biddeford third baseman Jennifer Nantel,
allowing one run to score, and then a pass ball thrown by Brownell
allowed another runner to come in, making it 2-0 before the Tigers
managed to clamp down.

    “It’s a character builder,” Paquin said. “We haven’t
been outside, and we lost all six of our scrimmages (cancelled due to
weather. It’s difficult) not being out here and learning from mistakes,
and getting some confidence fielding balls, and getting some confidence
swinging. It’s tough being inside that gym.”

    Biddeford managed to prevent any further damage up
through the sixth inning, when the Tigers finally got a little
offensive punch of their own. Following a lead off walk by Aimee
Mortensen, the Tigers were able to get a man in scoring position when
Kimborowicz sacrifice bunted Mortensen to second. A fly out to center
would leave Biddeford with just one out to work with, but Alyssa
Grigware’s routine grounder was fielded by DiMatteo, who overthrew to
first, allowing Mortsensen to score.

    The Tigers continued to rally when pinch hitting
freshman Jaclyn McCurry took her first-ever varsity pitch and lined it
into center for a single, followed by an infield hit from Tracy Gouin
that allowed Grigware to come in for the tie. The Tigers picked up two
more runs on another blown throw, this time when Kayla Binette knocked
a ground ball, beat out the throw to first, and then the ball was
overthrown to home.

    With Brownell on the mound, the Tigers preserved the
4-2 lead in the top half of the seventh inning and took home their
first win of the season.

    “We had a bad inning, and they had a chance to score
a bunch more. “Paquin said. “But to the kids’ credit, they made play
after play. If they didn’t make some of those plays, then it’s three or
four or five nothing. These kids had composure.”