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DIXFIELD — There are countless moments one could point to that encapsulate how special a season Dirigo is having.

Perhaps none are more significant, however, than the jubilation emanating from the dugout after senior Lana Waite hit a three-run homer — the Cougars’ second home run of the game — Wednesday afternoon against Oak Hill. 

“It felt good for me,” said Waite. “I attacked the first pitch, and altogether our hits were coming together as a team, and I’m really proud of them.”

If it hadn’t already in its first nine games of the season, Dirigo certainly made a statement in Game 10, defeating the Raiders 15-2 to remain undefeated this season. 

In the top of the first inning, Oak Hill (5-5) looked as if it could hang with Dirigo (10-0), as the Raiders scored two runs, thanks to RBI singles from Emma Dubois and Robyn Babbidge. 

The Cougars answered with a run in the bottom of the first and three in the second, then a 10-run third inning, punctuated by home runs from Waite and sophomore Madisyn Bradeen. 

“I don’t want to jinx it to talk about it even, but that’s the group of girls they are,” Dirigo coach Scott Robbins said. “The home runs, I don’t want to say they surprise me because we hit the ball, and when we hit the ball well, those things can happen. And it’s different girls. Every game, it’s different girls. Someone has an 0 for 4, someone has a 4 for 4, and it just works.”

This perfect start to the season isn’t some fluke.  Dirigo’s success this spring has been marinating for several seasons. 

Consecutive postseason runs have brought the team to the place it is now — at the top of the Class C South Heal point standings and scoring enough runs against Oak Hill to invoke the mercy rule after four and a half innings. Four of the Cougars’ last six wins have been by 12 runs or more. 

In 2025, Dirigo lost 4-3 to Hall-Dale in the Class C South final. The season before, the Cougars fell to the Bulldogs 8-0 in the semifinals. And in 2023, they lost to Maranacook, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. 

“This is my fourth year, and we’ve gone one step further each year,” Robbins said. “So three years to this point, we’ve made it one game further each year. To make it the next step is quite a significant step … there’s a lot of good teams out there, and we still got a lot of games that are going to be tough games for us down the stretch. But we keep swinging the bats like (we did against Oak Hill), I think good things can happen.”

With six games remaining in the regular season, Dirigo not only has a chance to maintain a perfect record but head into the playoffs with a legitimate chance at finally crossing that threshold and winning the Class C title for the first time in Robbins’ tenure. 

“This is my second year being here,” Bradeen said. “Freshman year, it was just a really good year for us. We had a really good team, made it all the way to regionals. This year, I don’t know, we’re just even better. Just really big wins for us. I think we got a taste for regionals, and now we’re going for states.”

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Oak Hill: Emma Dubois (1 for 3, RBI), Robyn Babbidge (1 for 2, RBI)

• Dirigo: Madisyn Bradeen (2 for 4, 3 RBI), Lana Waite (2 for 3, 3 RBI)