Softball: Coots tosses 13-strikeout 1-hitter as Nokomis mercy-rules Winslow

NEWPORT — Chalk up another dominant performance for a central Maine pitcher that’s produced a long line of them over the past four years.

Mia Coots struck out 13 batters in a one-hit performance Friday afternoon as the Nokomis softball team claimed a 10-0 six-inning victory over Winslow. It was the best performance of the young season for the Nokomis ace and two-time defending Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B Player of the Year.

Coots, who had a double and two runs scored for Nokomis in the win, struck out nine of the first 10 batters she faced before losing the no-hitter on a Madison Cochran infield single in the fourth. The Warriors also got three hits each from Raegan King and Sydney King.

Nokomis’ Makenzie Watson drops her bat after laying down a bunt against Winslow during a softball game Friday in Newport. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Coots sent Winslow (1-4) down in order in the first before Nokomis scored four runs with two outs on a rally highlighted by a two-run Jenna Sawtelle double that made it 4-0. The senior pitcher then struck out the side in both the second and third innings with the Warriors adding three more runs in the latter.

After Cochran broke up the no-hitter, Nokomis (3-1) scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to move within one of a mercy-rule win. It wouldn’t score in the fifth but would walk it off in the sixth as Hallie Coots, Mia’s freshman sister, walked, stole second and scored on a Raegan King single.

Behind the plate, Hallie Coots was the one catching for her older sister after Mia spent three years throwing to another Nokomis standout, Meg Watson. It’s a season for which both sisters have been waiting for some time, and the two, Mia Coots said, are loving every minute of it.

“Coming into this season, we knew this season was going to be really special for us, so we’ve just been focusing on living in the moment and taking it all in,” Mia Coots said. “I really like being able to share my senior season with my little sister and have her catch every pitch I throw.”

Grace Melvin pitched all six innings for Winslow, striking out five and also walking five and giving up 10 hits and 10 earned runs. It was the fourth straight defeat for the Black Raiders after beginning the season with a 14-3 victory over Waterville.