AUGUSTA — Gabby Brown teared up a little bit when she found out she was playing in the East-West Senior All-Star Game at Cony High School.

“I used to be really bad,” she said.

Brown, who recently graduated from Hall-Dale High School, came a long way to earn the all-star recognition, if not in a geographical sense.

It was a bittersweet day for a number of softball players playing in either the C/D game in the afternoon or the A/B game in the evening. For some, it was their final game in a softball uniform. For others who were fortunate enough to have a teammate also named to the all-star squad, it was their final game playing with friends and teammates they’d been playing with since tee-ball.

Brown and fellow Bulldogs Olivia Maynard and Eva Shepherd made up three-fourths of the West’s infield late in the C/D game, an 8-7 East win. After leading Hall-Dale to a 15-3 record and the Western C semifinals, then donning their school colors one last time, all three will be going their separate ways in the fall — Shepherd to the University of Southern Maine, Brown to St. Joseph’s College and Maynard to Husson University.

Like all but eight Maine high school softball teams, Hall-Dale’s season came to an end before reaching the state championship game. But the seniors were satisfied with how their final season played out.

“We had a couple of low points, but we always stuck together, and that’s something that we can always say about our team,” Shepherd said.

“We always had each other’s backs,” said Maynard, who doubled for the West. “When someone is down, you’ve got to be there to pick them up.”

“And, thankfully, the ups outweighed the downs,” Brown said.

Winslow’s Brooke Haskell and Hayley Pottle wrapped up their softball careers with the East A/B team. Haskell is attending St. Anselm and will play field hockey. Pottle is headed to University of Maine-Fort Kent, which does not offer softball.

The prospect of putting away the softball gear wasn’t as tough for Haskell as knowing they wouldn’t be wearing Winslow’s colors anymore.

“We’ve been playing together since, like, kindergarten,” said Haskell, a third baseman. “This is our last thing with our high school, the last time we can wear the Winslow uniform.”

“I’m excited more than anything,” said Pottle, a center fielder who helped lead Winslow to a 12-6 record and the Eastern B quarterfinals. “I’m just taking it all in and enjoying it.”

Winslow coach Steve Bodge watched the game as a spectator with mixed emotions. He was sorry to lose two key players who had played for him the last three years, but proud that they were representing the Black Raiders on a field with the best softball players in the state.

“They were two rocks for us all the way through, and had monster seasons offensively, base-running, leadership, everything,” Bodge said. “It’s exciting because last year we played the whole season without a senior. We didn’t go through all of this.”

Bodge expects to watch more of his Winslow players in future all-star games, where some softball careers meet a bittersweet end.

“Hopefully this isn’t the end, though,” Shepherd said.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

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