The Carrabec softball team won’t have its first home game until April 27, but the Cobras already have something special planned.

That Friday, Carrabec hosts Winthrop, and the Cobras will be wearing special pink uniforms, as well as pink and white helmets, for breast cancer awareness. Coach Craig Knight said the players bought the uniforms themselves, and the slogan, “Carrabec strikes out breast cancer” is on the front of each shirt.

“The school likes the kids to do community service things, and we were trying to figure out something that we could do,” Knight said. “The girls picked the whole breast cancer theme, and we decided that we were going to have a breast cancer awareness game.”

Knight said there will be no admission charged at the game, but there will be a stand with items like T-shirts and bracelets for sale, with all proceeds benefiting breast cancer research.

The Cobras are hoping the uniforms won’t be a one-shot deal. Knight said they’d like to wear them every Friday for the rest of the season.

“We want to do our part for awareness,” Knight said.

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Messalonskee’s Kai Smith was one of the best pitchers in Eastern A last season as a freshman. She threw nearly every inning on the season, but didn’t pitch at all Wednesday, when the Eagles defeated Brewer, 3-2, in eight innings. Smith has been battling illness lately, so fellow sophomore Kassi Michaud threw all eight innings.

“Kai is feeling much better,” Messalonskee coach Leo Bouchard. “I’m planning on pitching her in the next game (Friday at Lewiston), probably the end of the game.”

Michaud has been impressive this spring, and Bouchard likes the idea of splitting the workload between the two pitchers.

“The way Kassi has matured, the way Kassi has gone through the preseason for us, I’m planning on probably using both of them,” Bouchard said. “Kai, being the mature athlete that she is, accepted that really well. They’re good friends off the field, which makes it that much easier for that to happen on the field.”

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Bouchard had his infield all planned for Wednesday’s game, then had to switch pretty much everybody around when catcher Natalie Hunt sprained her thumb.

“In the summer, I kind of dislocated it — it slid back in its socket,” Hunt said. “It was really painful. Then Saturday, in South Portland, I caught a foul tip, and it hit it, and it slid back, and it was the worst pain ever.”

Hunt did end up playing, and in her first at bat, belted a triple to center field that just missed being a home run by a few feet. She finished 1 for 3, even though she didn’t find out until Wednesday morning that she was even going to be playing.

“Like 10 minutes before warmup, my trainer, he made this plastic thing, and it feels just like normal now,” Hunt said.

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Erskine junior Alyssa Gartley stepped into the void left by the departure of Sonja Morse and pitched a five-hit shutout against Edward Little in the team’s season opening 7-0 win Wednesday in Auburn.

Morse, who transferred to Cony, saw the bulk of the action in the circle last season.

“(Alyssa) threw maybe one or two games,” first-year Erskine coach Holly Tripp said. “She does a real good job placing the ball around the plate. She’s really worked hard on her changeup and she has really good movement on the ball.”

Gartley didn’t walk a batter and struck out six, including one with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. The Eagles are mix of youth and experience. Seniors Meryl Bond and Mikhaela Helm came up with big hits as Erskine scored all seven of its runs in the sixth inning. In all, there are seven seniors on the team.

“It’s nice having so many seniors because we don’t have to go over the little things,” Tripp said. “They’re doing a real good job, they’re very serious.”

The left side of the infield is new with freshman Taylor Boucher at short and junior Alison Gauvin moving from second to third.

“She’s doing a pretty good job,” Tripp said of Boucher. “She’s got range with her glove that I haven’t seen in quite awhile.”

Gauvin hasn’t missed a beat in moving to a new position.

“She’s an animal at third base,” Tripp said.

The Eagles play their home opener Friday against Lawrence.

Gary Hawkins contributed to this report.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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