Vikings swamped by Red Storm in Maine Class A softball championship

By Bill Van Tassel

STANDISH — Oxford Hills couldn’t hold off the Scarborough Red Storm in the Class A softball championship game June 16, despite five strong innings from sophomore pitcher Lauren Merrill.
Scarborough won the championship, 12-0.

While holding a 1-0 lead, Scarborough pitcher Chloe Griffin and her teammates were able to keep the many runners Oxford Hills put on base from scoring and the Vikings stranded seven runners.
But Merrill was able to hold off the Red Storm from the mount, just the one run, unearned.
The Storm came out of the batter’s box in the sixth inning as a tempest. The Scarborough seniors and a few of their underclassmen put 13 batters to the plate and smacked 11 hits against Merrill and relief pitcher Sydney Crocker, leaving a one-run lead in the wake and adding 11 more runs.
The 12-0 win topped off a 40-game winning streak as well as their sixth state title in 12 years.
The Oxford Hills Vikings, under Coach Cindy Goddard, ended a great season with 16 wins and just four losses. In the loss at St. Joseph College’s Bailey Field, Lauren Merrill managed a double, with the team total hits at six, including a couple from Haley Dillingham. In making it to the state championship game, the Vikings had to beat another undefeated team, the Skowhegan Indians. With Merrill pitching again, the girls pulled off the upset 7-3, earning the Class A North Title.

PHOTO: Sophomore pitcher Lauren Merrill hugs Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard after the Vikings loss to Scarborough in the state Class A Championship on June 16 in Standish. (Bill Van Tassel photo)