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STANDISH — The lead had grown, and the number of outs to get was dwindling. But the Bucksport softball team wasn’t about to start rejoicing.

Not against Hall-Dale, the four-time defending Class C state champion. The Golden Bucks had learned that lesson.

“We kept our guard up the whole game,” pitcher Natalie Simpson said. “Going into the last inning, we were up (four runs), and we were like ‘We just need three outs before we can even celebrate.'”

Eventually, though, that time arrived. Simpson struck out 12 in a four-hitter, Jetta Shook drove in three runs, and Bucksport avenged back-to-back title game losses to Hall-Dale with a 6-2 win over the Bulldogs in the Class C final.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Shook, who had a clutch two-run single during a three-run sixth inning that gave the Bucks a needed cushion. “Especially playing Hall-Dale, basically our rival at this point. … We knew it was going to be our year, as long as we played our game.”

Hall-Dale (17-3) was aiming to become the first softball team in any class to win five straight championships.

“I’m just really impressed with what they did to get here. We had a lot of people in different spots this year, a lot of younger kids in the lineup, and they just battled,” said Hall-Dale coach Steve Acedo, who got four strikeouts from Lucy Gray. “Out of all the teams, I’m probably more proud of this group for what they accomplished.”

The Bucks (18-1) had seen how tough the Bulldogs are to beat in the postseason, having lost 2-1 to them on a go-ahead run in the sixth inning in 2023, and then 6-3 last year after taking a lead into the seventh inning.

“We knew we were going to have to score early and often,” Bucksport coach Rich Rotella said. “They are the comeback kids, we’ve seen all the comebacks they’ve had, especially in the last round against Dirigo. So we knew we had to keep the pressure on.”

Sure enough, Hall-Dale had a counter ready the first few times Bucksport struck. The Bucks took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Shook and a sacrifice fly by Simpson, but Jade Graham singled home a run in the bottom half. Emma Clement brought in Lexi Raymond with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to make it 3-1, only for Torie Tibbetts (2 for 4) to homer to left leading off Hall-Dale’s next turn.

In the sixth, and with the top of Hall-Dale’s order looming in the seventh, Bucksport landed the backbreaking blow that was missing the previous two seasons. Addison Harvey walked, and Allie Hanscom followed with a single to center. Hall-Dale got the next two outs and seemed poised for a clutch escape, but Marina Keene grounded into the hole at shortstop, and Hanscom beat Tibbetts’s throw to third, allowing Harvey to score.

Shook followed with a single to center, bringing in Hanscom and Keene for a 6-2 lead.

“I looked between left and right, and I’m like ‘That’s where I’m putting it,'” Shook said. “(Entering the inning), we were like, ‘This is our top of the lineup here. We need to score runs here, this is it.'”

Simpson, who entered the game with a 0.20 ERA and 205 strikeouts in 107 innings, took it from there. She got the Bulldogs in order in the sixth and seventh to ice the victory and as Bucksport earned its ninth state title.

“That was a very difficult win for us,” she said. “I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. ‘Oh, they’re going to start scoring a whole bunch of runs, or she’s going to hit another home run,’ or something. I was ready to keep going, even if they scored.”

The players and coaches in the Bucksport dugout weren’t the only ones expecting a comeback. After four championships, the Bulldogs were confident they had some late magic left.

“I think that’s what hurts the most. I was going to make history with this team, and this team right here,” Tibbetts said. “I was sitting there in the sixth inning, we had two at-bats left, and I said, ‘The universe is on our side, the universe has got us, and we’re going to win.’ I did (feel that), and I think they all did, too.”