By Emory Rounds
Staff Writer
    It would take a brilliant outing to put away a South Portland Red Riots softball team picked most likely to represent western Maine in the state title game this season, and that’s exactly what Biddeford High School head coach Leon Paquin got out of his young team on April 21.
    With a lineup completely retooled from the team that Paquin won a state championship with last season, Biddeford nonetheless prevailed with a four-run sixth inning rally, breaking out from five scoreless innings and decisively beating the Red Riots 4-2.
    “Those guys were ready,” said South Portland head coach Jim Hartman. “They were just more energized and ready to play. We didn’t have that same sense of urgency. I don’t know what it was, but we weren’t ready.”
    Despite that, for five innings the Red Riots certainly played like they were quite ready for the Tigers. South Portland senior starting pitcher Julie DiMatteo, despite allowing a Biddeford base runner in every inning but the fifth, struck out five and managed to keep the Tigers bottled up until the sixth inning.
    Opposing DiMatteo was Biddeford sophomore starter Savannah Brownell, in her first-ever appearance for the Tigers on varsity. Brownell was dynamic, also striking out five and giving Biddeford seven strong innings, a feat particularly impressive after the Tigers surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third inning.
    “I just don’t know what to say; it was amazing,” Brownell said. “We just beat the team that was picked to win states. I was so nervous. I was just trying to do my best and not throw up. There wasn’t really a game plan for me. I was just trying to hit my spots and do my best and believe in myself.”
    Brownell got a huge lift early on, when the Red Riots led off with a double in the top of the second. With one out, Kristina Aceto lifted a fly ball to shallow right center field that looked like it would drop in for a hit. Instead, Biddeford center fielder Ashley Potvin, in easily the most impressive play of the year thus far for the Tigers, went into full extension and laid out to make an amazing run-saving grab. Brownell went on to strike out the final batter of the inning and end the threat.
    “I have laid out for a ball before, but I haven’t really made the catch,” Potvin said. “So coming up with the ball was really exciting. I think it (gave us a lift) because it’s kind of a point in the game where they had a runner in scoring position and you knew that shutting them down would be big.”
    In spite of Potvin’s successful grab, the Tigers were still empty-handed on offense heading into the third inning, and that’s when a combination of bad luck, slick base running and untimely errors combined to hand the Riots two runs. Brownell forced a pop-up on the first at bat, but a ground ball from the next batter was bobbled, and Christina Aceto’s bouncer toward first base on the next at-bat was mishandled. Another misplayed ground ball, this time bunted to first, left the bases loaded.
    Still, it looked like the Tigers might escape from the inning unharmed when DiMatteo hit a soft roller to first baseman Nikki Kimborowicz, who promptly threw home for the force out. Unfortunately, Jamie Harmon would connect with a line drive foul that kicked off the glove of Biddeford third baseman Jennifer Nantel, allowing one run to score, and then a pass ball thrown by Brownell allowed another runner to come in, making it 2-0 before the Tigers managed to clamp down.
    “It’s a character builder,” Paquin said. “We haven’t been outside, and we lost all six of our scrimmages (cancelled due to weather. It’s difficult) not being out here and learning from mistakes, and getting some confidence fielding balls, and getting some confidence swinging. It’s tough being inside that gym.”
    Biddeford managed to prevent any further damage up through the sixth inning, when the Tigers finally got a little offensive punch of their own. Following a lead off walk by Aimee Mortensen, the Tigers were able to get a man in scoring position when Kimborowicz sacrifice bunted Mortensen to second. A fly out to center would leave Biddeford with just one out to work with, but Alyssa Grigware’s routine grounder was fielded by DiMatteo, who overthrew to first, allowing Mortsensen to score.
    The Tigers continued to rally when pinch hitting freshman Jaclyn McCurry took her first-ever varsity pitch and lined it into center for a single, followed by an infield hit from Tracy Gouin that allowed Grigware to come in for the tie. The Tigers picked up two more runs on another blown throw, this time when Kayla Binette knocked a ground ball, beat out the throw to first, and then the ball was overthrown to home.
    With Brownell on the mound, the Tigers preserved the 4-2 lead in the top half of the seventh inning and took home their first win of the season.
    “We had a bad inning, and they had a chance to score a bunch more. “Paquin said. “But to the kids’ credit, they made play after play. If they didn’t make some of those plays, then it’s three or four or five nothing. These kids had composure.”