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ORONO — Carmen Crockett saved the best performance of an outstanding high school softball career for Saturday. The result was a 10th Class D state championship for Buckfield.

Crockett, a senior pitcher, struck out 16 of the 22 batters she faced while leading the Bucks to a 5-0 win over Penobscot Valley at the University of Maine. Crockett allowed just one hit, in the first inning, and had no walks.

“It feels amazing,” said Crockett, who will be playing at NCAA Division III Emmanuel College in Boston next year. “We’ve been working on this for a while, so it’s awesome. I felt really confident in myself. I knew my defense was behind me, so I had nothing to worry about. This feels amazing.”

“(Crockett) had been dominant all year,” Buckfield coach Shawn Prokey said. “She was hungry to come back with a lot of strikeouts. She pitched a heck of a game.”

It’s the first state championship for the Bucks (18-1) since 2008.

Offensively, the Bucks were led by freshman outfielder Taylor Harvey, who was 2 for 3 with two RBI. Senior second baseman Brittany Carrier hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the seventh inning that helped seal the victory.

Penobscot Valley finished 17-1. Senior outfielder Ellie Austin got the lone hit for the Howlers. Junior pitcher Lauren Veino struck out 12 and walked two in seven innings. It was the second consecutive trip to the state final for Penobscot Valley, which fell 2-1 to North Yarmouth Academy last season.

“We hit against the (pitching) machine all week, but we just didn’t choke up on the bat early enough,” Penobscot Valley coach Jessica McKechnie said. “It was (Buckfield’s) year to win it. They took advantage of a couple of miscues, and we didn’t have any base runners to move around.”

The game was a true pitchers’ duel through the first three innings, as Veino and Crockett combined for 14 strikeouts. Buckfield finally broke through in the fourth inning, as first baseman Cori Merrill plated Cora Brewster with an infield single. Harvey followed with a two-run single to center field that scored Amelia Hill and Merrill for a 3-0 lead.

Harvey led off the seventh inning with a base hit to right. Three batters later, Carrier smacked a Veino pitch into the gap in right field and raced around the base paths, beating the throw home.

“I just hit the sweet spot (on the bat), and I knew it was a good hit and that I was just going to keep going,” Carrier said.

“Our first three runs were not huge hits, but when Brittany followed with that big hit (in the seventh), that was just the insurance that we needed to go into that last (half) inning.”

It was more than enough for Crockett, who at one point struck out eight consecutive batters. She struck out two in the seventh inning to seal the victory.

“It took the pressure off of me,” Crockett said. “It definitely helped a lot. I’m so proud of this team.”

Saturday was the second time this season the two teams had met, as they played each other in the preseason.

“Our defense was a lot better today, even though we gave up five runs today,” McKechnie said. “Hitting the ball, we struggled. (Crockett) is a great pitcher.”