WINSLOW — Winslow softball coach Steve Bodge was in awe of how effective senior pitcher Hillary Libby was in the regional quarterfinals last week, but he hadn’t seen anything yet.
Libby was at her best on Saturday afternoon, pitching the No. 3 Black Raiders to a 5-2 win over upset-minded Medomak Valley at LaVerdiere Field in the Class B North semifinals. Libby threw a masterful four-hit, complete-game effort that featured 10 strikeouts.
“She pitched the daylights out today,” Bodge said. “She’s pitched the daylights out two days in a row now.”
Libby, though, was just getting started. She also swatted a two-run home run to right-center field, igniting a four-run Winslow second inning that accounted for all the scoring the Black Raiders (17-1) would need. They’ll face either top-seeded Hermon or No. 4 Old Town in the regional finals Wednesday in Brewer.
Libby’s first career playoff home run drove in Bailey Robbins, who had singled up the middle with one out to open the threat.
“I just went up there, and I don’t really think when I go up to bat,” said Libby, who has two home runs this season. “If the ball is coming and it looks good, then I swing at it.”
A walk and a single led to an errant throw from Medomak catcher Josie Jameson on a steal attempt of third by Natalie Greene to make it 3-0. An RBI double down the left field line from leadoff hitter Jenna Petrovic plated Liz Pullen for a 4-0 Winslow lead through two innings.
“What a good inning we had at the right time,” said Bodge, whose team has now won 11 straight games dating back more than a month to May 9. “Sometimes when teams get on a run like this, they do what they need to do at the right time.”
From there, Libby went to work.
She didn’t allow a hit to the Panthers (13-6) until the fourth inning, when she was able to hold the visitors off the board by leaving the bases loaded after getting a pair of called third strikes to work out of the jam.
Two errors by sophomore second baseman Sarah Guimond led to a Medomak run in the fifth, but the two-year starter rebounded in a big way in the seventh. Two singles allowed the Panthers to put two runners in scoring position with two out, but Guimond covered first on a dribbling ground ball to the first baseman Greene, clutching Greene’s tricky toss and ending the game.
“(Libby) pitched really well,” Medomak Valley coach Rick Vannah said. “Hillary threw inside on us a few times and got called strike threes, and that was the difference. Our girls played hard, but they’re a good team.”
Winslow tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on Libby’s RBI groundout which scored Paige Veilleux.
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.