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It’s not unprecedented for freshmen to make an impact on high school varsity softball teams. Girls, after all, mature more quickly than boys do.
But usually those impact players are taller and heavier than Richmond’s talented battery of pitcher Meranda Martin, at 5-foot-3, 115 pounds, and catcher Camryn Hurley, 5-feet, 120.
“Both of them have been playing AAU softball which has helped immensely,” Richmond coach Rick Coughlin said. “But they’re still small and young.”
Martin and Hurley are two of five freshmen starting for the Bobcats who are gunning for their second straight Class D state championship Saturday when they face unbeaten Limestone, a team led by a talented senior pitcher and catcher. Nerves?
“Not really,” Martin said. “I think we’re all excited more than anything. I think because we’re such a young team people weren’t expecting us to make it this far. I think we can do it.”
People weren’t expecting Martin and Hurley to be this good, either, at least those who had yet to see them play. Hurley leads off and Martin bats second and both can run, bunt and hit away.
Martin batted .667 this season and scored 42 runs while Hurley hit .451 and scored 29 times. The two are close friends and have competed in softball, basketball and soccer since they were young kids. Both played varsity soccer and basketball this season with the soccer team advancing to the state final.
“That helps with the nerves,” Hurley said of the soccer final. “We were very ready.”
Martin has been lights out in the circle, going 16-0 with a no hitters and several one-hitters. In 101 innings she’s fanned 116 batters while walking just 11. She plays for the Southern Maine Flames, an U-16 AAU team Hurley joined this year. Hurley, who played third base coming up through the ranks, found out she’d be the team’s catcher over the winter.
“I really worked hard over the winter when they told me they wanted me to do it,” Hurley said. “But I really like it now.”
Hurley calls the pitches, of which Martin has several, and rarely is she shaken off.
“We mix it up a lot,” she said. “We’re definitely on the same page.”
The pair have benefited from watching their older sisters play throughout high school. Martin’s sister Leandra pitched for four years and was in the circle when the Bobcats won the state title in 2010.
“Watching her all four years, I just really wanted to be there,” Martin said. “I never thought it would happen, but it happened.”
Hurley’s sister Danica was a four-year starter at shortstop for the Bobcats, graduating the same year Leandra Martin did before moving on to play soccer at the University of Maine.
“Watching my sister makes me want to be a better athlete,” Hurley said. “We’re very competitive back and forth.”
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
Twitter: @GaryHawkinsKJ
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