AUGUSTA — Carrabec’s quartet of all-stars wasted little time reminding a rival coach that Thursday’s Maine Softball Coaches Association Senior All-Star games are not your typical softball contests.
They hid Madison coach Chris LeBlanc’s shoes.
Carrabec coach Craig Knight and LeBlanc made sure to keep the hijinks going — following the lead of Bailey Atwood, Paige Chadbourne, Liberty Chestnut and McKayla Willette — during the C/D South All-Stars Game at Cony Family Field.
“Chris and I battle during the regular season and everything, but we were the pranksters in the dugout today,” Knight said.
In between pranks, the South engaged the North in a pretty good game — which the North won, 7-6.
But the emphasis of the game — and the Class A/B game that followed — was to have fun and celebrate many of the best high school players in the state.
In that spirit, Madison catcher Aly LeBlanc, a Miss Maine Softball finalist, not only caught for the South in the C/D game but in the A/B game, as well, because it didn’t have a catcher.
Her Madison teammate, Erin Whalen, pitched a couple of innings for the C/D All-Stars to give starting pitcher Olivia York of Telstar a breather. Whalen was a first baseman for the unbeaten Class C state champions, who normally gave the ball to their all-conference pitcher, junior Madeline Wood.
“I pitched a couple of times, but it’s been a few months, I think,” said Whalen, who will attend Husson in the fall. “It was a blast.”
Whalen enjoyed herself despite having the misfortune of stepping into the circle around the time the worst of a mild rain shower passed through. But she kept the South in the game despite the less-than-ideal conditions.
Playing out of position isn’t unusual in these games. Coaches have nearly two dozen players to get involved in the action and nine innings, rather than the seven played during the season, to get them in.
The C/D South coaching staff, which also included Tony Martin from Class D state champion Richmond, drew up the starting lineup, then left it to the players to pick their spots in the field after that.
“They kind of controlled that themselves and did a good job,” Knight said.
A little extra teamwork went a long way in getting players who were either rivals or had never met to bond in the dugout.
“It was awesome,” said Chestnut, who is headed to the University of Maine in the fall. “It’s fun getting to know people from other schools and sitting there and talking with them and having fun.”
“It’s fun to see everybody from the different schools and interact with different people, see how they play and how you can work with them in the field,” added Oak Hill’s Makayla Nadeau, who is headed to the University of New England.
Nadeau and Oak Hill teammate Jamie Prue saw a lot of unfamiliar faces in the A/B South dugout. Oak Hill is a Class B softball school that plays in the Mountain Valley Conference, which is almost exclusively a Class C conference. Prue discovered the game was an opportunity to start some new friendships with future classmates.
“In the dugout, instead of where are you from, it’s more like, where are you going, which is kind of cool,” said Prue, who will attend the University of Maine.
“For some girls, it’s kind of the small fish in the big pond, and it’s fun to see them adapt,” Knight said. “You know, it’s all the same game, whether your C or D or whatever you are.”
For all the fun, there were risks involved. The Madison contingent, which also included Kayla Bess, put its perfect season on the line.
“I guess we’re not undefeated anymore,” Whalen joked.
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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