SOUTH CHINA — There is no shortage of offense for the Gardiner Area High School softball team to start the 2023 season.

All but one pinch hitter collected a hit for the Tigers, the defending Class B champion, on the way to a 19-0 victory over Erskine Academy in the season opener on Tuesday morning. The game ended via the 10-run rule.

“We made a goal to come out today and make a statement and I think we did that,” Gardiner head coach Ryan Gero said. “We really wanted to come out and hit the ball, be aggressive, put some runs on the board and get rolling.”

Gardiner (1-0) had 12 hits, with Taylor Takatsu and Grace Plourde each collecting two hits apiece. Plourde had a double, triple and four RBI for the Tigers. In her lone at-bat, Addison Pollis had a two-run single for Gardiner.

“Honestly, it’s really good for us (to start hitting early),” said Gardiner second baseman Dewey Clary, who had a single and scored three runs. “We’re usually really slow to get our bats going… I thought we got off to a little bit of a slow start, but once (we got going), we were like, ‘OK, we found it,’ and we got into our groove.”

The ball gets away as Erskine Academy’s Kassidy Barrett reaches to tag Gardiner baserunner Corinne Vasvary on a successful steal of second base during a softball game Tuesday at Erskine Academy in China. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Brooke Gero earned the win in the circle for the Tigers, allowing just one hit while striking out five batters. She walked two.

Mackenzie Toner had the lone hit for Erskine (0-1), smashing a double in the third inning that was mere feet away from clearing the fence in left centerfield.

Gardiner not only took care of business at the plate, but on the basepaths as well, stealing eight bases. The Tigers’ aggressive baserunning made life uncomfortable for the Erskine defense throughout the contest.

“We always practice on being aggressive (on the bases),” Clary said. “And we’ve all played travel (softball) our whole lives, so we’ve always (been taught) a really aggressive demeanor.”

“We work really hard on our baserunning in practice,” Ryan Gero added. “We’re fast, we know we’re fast. We’re going to make teams throw us out.”

Gardiner’s biggest inning at the plate came in the second, when it racked up seven runs. Plourde and Raylee Gilbert each had two-run doubles for the Tigers in that inning, with Lainey Cooley and Brooke Gero each adding RBI singles.

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