Infielder/pitcher Sarah Orso is batting .593 with six home runs for York, which is off to an 8-0 start. In the circle, Orso is 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

York softball players were asking coach Kevin Giannino to let them hit in the gym. There was just one problem.

“I said ‘Girls, it’s basketball season,'” he said.

The Wildcats couldn’t take their cuts in winter, but they’ve been making up for it in the spring. York is off to a blistering start, with an 8-0 record after Monday’s 21-3 win over Yarmouth. The Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in this week’s Varsity Maine Top 10, have scored 132 runs, an average of 16.5 per contest. They’ve scored at least 14 runs in each game, and won each by at least eight.

It’s been a hot start for a motivated team that took an undefeated record into the Class B state championship game last year before falling 2-1 to Nokomis.

“Losing last year like we did sort of was the incentive to get back at it,” Giannino said. “The girls from that point on said ‘Listen, let’s work extra hard.’ They hit all summer, and they put the extra time in in the gym to ratchet up from the offensive standpoint.”

York’s Hannah Cleary is helping lead a high-powered offense, batting .591 so far this spring. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

York graduated three-time Western Maine Conference Player of the Year McKayla Kortes and leadoff hitter Emily Estes, but the returning players have picked up the slack. Pitcher Sarah Orso entered the week with a .593 average and five home runs, then homered again Monday. First baseman Maddie Fitzgerald is hitting .640. Hannah Cleary is batting .591.

And then there have been two key additions to further help offset the graduations. Maren Robinson, injured last year, is batting .560 with a 3-0 record and 3.41 ERA while splitting pitching duties with Orso (4-0, 2.63). Piper Catanese, a transfer from Marshwood, is batting a team-high .655. The new players have fit seamlessly; Orso taking over for Kortes in the circle would have left a hole at shortstop, but Catanese, a smart and athletic fielder, stepped right in.

York has seen this kind of early production before. The Wildcat players know, however, that May statistics doesn’t matter much in June, and that other areas of their game have to be sharp.

“We expect our pitching to continue to improve, and our defense has been extremely strong,” Giannino said. “We know that once you get into the tournament, pitching seems to always be waiting for you. We’re not going to be able to score 10, 12, 14 runs a game to win a game.”

ONE OF THE NEW RULES the MPA softball committee has implemented this season is the use of one-way communication devices, allowing communication between coaches and catchers for the purpose of calling pitches.

It’s a practice that first started in Maine high school baseball last season. In softball, Maine coaches haven’t fully embraced the new technology yet but are open to the idea in the future.

Windham catcher Stella Jarvais is the two-time SMAA defensive player of the year. With Jarvais behind the plate, Windham coach Darcey Gardiner said the Eagles will wait to use a communication device that allows coaches to call pitches. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

“We do not (use it),” Windham coach Darcey Gardiner said. “And I only say we do not because I have a catcher behind the plate who calls the game herself. In a different situation with a different catcher, maybe a younger catcher, that would definitely be something that I would be looking into. Thankfully, I’ve got a catcher that’s pretty good (at calling pitches).”

The Eagles (4-1) are led behind the plate by senior Stella Jarvais, the reigning SMAA defensive player of the year.

“Pitching is at a different level in the south, overall, in the state,” Gardiner said. “Two or three years ago, when I took over Windham, coaches were calling the game. It’s interesting. Now, I have a series of numbers, 0-5. I could see a team three times in a season. (Early on), I try to stick to 0s, 1s and 2s. The second game, maybe it’s the 3s and 4s. It got trickier for us. (One year), we met Biddeford for a third time, and it was tough using numbers that they hadn’t heard before.”

York currently is not using one-way communication devices but is also open to the idea.

“Personally, I would like to give it a try, but it may be cost prohibitive,” Giannino said. “I’m all in for anything that would improve the quality of play and I think the girls would love it. … It also introduces the system to the girls moving on to (college softball), where it plays a more prominent role.”

In Maine high school softball, it’s not uncommon for coaches to signal pitch calls to catchers from the dugout. For some coaches, it’s a ritual that will not be changing any time soon.

“I haven’t (used the devices) and we’re not doing it,” said Skowhegan coach Lee Johnson, who guided the River Hawks to Class A titles in 2014 and 2021. “I don’t think it’s needed. I think we’ve always done things the way we’ve done them. I don’t see any need to change it, but that’s just my opinion.”

SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A FEW GAMES for teams to adjust to a new head coach, but the Greely softball team has found its groove rather quickly.

Andy Smith is in his first year at Greely (8-2), which entered Tuesday atop the crowded Class B South Heal points standings and in good position for its first postseason bye since 2016.

“I had never coached softball before, at any level, so I knew I would screw some stuff (up),” Smith said. “And I have, but I also have brought a different, non-traditional perspective to how we do things. I think it raised some eyebrows, but the girls have bought in and it’s gone well.”

With seven starters returning from last year’s 9-9 team, Smith knew he was inheriting an experienced roster. However, he has had to move positions around after graduating Avery Butler, the Rangers’ primary pitcher.

Greely pitcher Katie Wallace is 3-1 this season while splitting duties with Presely Allard, who is 5-1. Cooper Sullivan/Times Record

Sophomore Presely Allard (5-1) and junior Katie Wallace (3-1) have been reliable on the rubber after little to no pitching experience last season. With four all-conference selections (including Wallace at shortstop) in the field, the young pitchers have some pressure lifted off their shoulders.

Greely’s best defense is its offense. The Rangers’ bats have been consistently productive, averaging 12.1 runs per game. Of the nine players with at least 30 plate appearances, eight are batting .300 or better, four have an OPS over 1.000, and three players (freshman Quinn Simpson, Wallace and senior Lucia Axelsen) are batting .500 or better. Simpson leads the team with nine extra-base hits and Fiona MacArthur has 23 stolen bases.

“It took us a little bit to figure out what was going to give us the best look (in the field), but thankfully they both have pitched great, and we came out of the gates really hot at the plate,” Smith said.

Six games remain on Greely’s schedule, including two against York.

ONE OF THE STATE’S top pitchers reached a milestone last week when Kennebunk senior Julia Pike recorded her 600th strikeout in the third inning of a 4-0 loss to Windham on Thursday afternoon.

With Pike, a three-time Varsity Maine All-State pick, leading the way in the circle, Kennebunk was 4-2 entering Tuesday’s games and in fifth place in Class A South. The Albany commit entered Tuesday 2-2 with 30 strikeouts and a 1.90 ERA in 22 innings.