Jul. 10—Darcey Gardiner didn’t need a prompt. The Windham softball coach was asked about her team’s outlook for the season, and she went right to the team and player she knew the Eagles were going to have to beat.
“Most of my returners all got the chance in two different games last year to hit against (Cheverus sophomore) Addison (DeRoche),” Gardiner said after a preseason practice in April. “For us, it’s really trying to find where the weak spots are, and us really getting as good as we can at their weak spots.”
Teams don’t always get that chance to accomplish a singular mission, and when they do, they don’t always capitalize. Windham did. The Eagles returned to the Class A pinnacle, defeating champion Cheverus and DeRoche 1-0 in the regional final before finishing the task with a 7-0 victory over Edward Little in the state title game, and as a result have earned the honor of 2024-25 Varsity Maine Girls Team of the Year.
“This group just really meant a lot to me,” Gardiner said. “This team is going to have a lot of memories for a long time.”
The Eagles were loaded. At their core was the battery of pitcher Kennedy Kimball (0.42 ERA, 143 strikeouts in 83.1 innings) and catcher Stella Jarvais (SMAA Defensive Player of the Year, .532 average), but where most teams see a drop-off later in the lineup, Windham didn’t.
Shortstop Addie Caiazzo, left fielder/second baseman Oakley McLeod and first baseman Yani Kostopoulos each had home run power. Outfielders Nola Bryant and Kyla Harvie had range and a penchant for flashy plays. Third baseman Chloe Edwards, the No. 9 hitter, was one of the team’s best athletes and had the strongest arm in the field. The Eagles hit 1 through 9, outscored opponents 201-27, and were excellent in all corners of the field.
“Kennedy’s one of the best pitchers in the state, but Windham’s lineup is very deep,” Edward Little coach Elaine Derosby said. “They could go 12 (deep), and that is not something we see on a regular basis.”
Still, the Eagles were an underdog going into the season. They were trying to replace ace pitcher and leadoff hitter Brooke Gerry, the two-time Gatorade Maine Player of the Year, and their path to a title meant going through the Stags and DeRoche — one of the best pitching prospects in the country, who as a freshman had humbled the Eagles with 23 strikeouts in the 10-inning regional final.
“Losing that last game … and striking out as many times as we did, I think that is what truly lit a fire underneath the girls,” Gardiner said. “It started the day after that game: ‘Hey Coach, here’s what I think we should work on over the summer.’ ‘Hey Coach, what about these ideas for working on things in the winter time?'”
The Eagles went into the offseason making sure they’d be ready for the SMAA’s big arms: Gorham’s Bella McBrady, Kennebunk’s Julia Pike and, of course, DeRoche. They hit in the winter, with Kimball throwing live pitching. They worked on hitting the outside pitches those pitchers like to throw. They worked on where to stand in the box, and hitting with long and short strides.
“Even in practices before the season and in the season, it was a lot of, ‘How do we not beat ourselves this year?'” Kimball said. “Last year, it felt like we beat ourselves a lot, swinging at pitches that were out of the zone or watching too many strikes. We needed to come in with a plan.”
The results weren’t immediate. Windham went 3-0 against Gorham and Kennebunk, but 0-2 against Cheverus. The Eagles didn’t pitch Kimball, however, and they came away feeling like a third game would be a different outcome.
“It definitely helped the confidence,” Kimball said. “Knowing we scored two runs in the first game, and then we scored another run the second game. It was like, ‘We can score runs, we can make good plays in the field and timely plays when we need to.'”
It showed in the South final, as the Eagles got their payback. They didn’t hit much against DeRoche, scoring just once, but they did just enough. Kimball blanked the Stags in the circle. The Eagles played with the demeanor of a team that didn’t think, but knew it could win.
“We were confident,” Jarvais said, “but we weren’t cocky.”
In the state final, the journey was completed, and the Eagles finished the afternoon back where they were two years ago by beating Edward Little 7-0.
“It was really nice to see us be able to go out like that,” Kimball said. “(We had) such a great year and so much fun together. For us to be able to accomplish our goal was really nice.”
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