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Medomak Valley softball blanks York for B South title

GORHAM — To Medomak Valley pitcher Sidney Nicholls, the game plan against York in the Class B South softball final Tuesday afternoon was simple.

“I really just wanted to strike them out, because I knew they’re a really well-hitting team. I knew I couldn’t give up hits,” said Nicholls, a sophomore.

Nicholls allowed only one hit — a third-inning single by Sarah Orso. Nicholls and the Panthers did what no opponent had done all season, shutting down York’s offense to take a 5-0 win at the University of Southern Maine and advance to the Class B state final.

It’s the first regional title since 2009 for Medomak Valley (16-3), the No. 3 seed. The Panthers will face Hermon (17-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday at the University of Maine.

Top-seeded York ends the season at 18-1.

“She’s a phenom pitcher and she had a phenomenal performance. You tip your hat to her. She was around the plate all day and throwing hard. She was on her game,” York coach Kevin Gianinno said of Nicholls. “Nothing more than that. A tremendous performance by Sidney Nicholls.”

York was an offensive juggernaut all season. The Wildcats scored at least 12 runs in 15 of 18 games before Tuesday, and their season low was in a 6-5 win over Freeport in the regional semifinals. But York couldn’t get any traction against Nicholls, who struck out 14 while walking three. The Wildcats never got a runner past second base.

“She just comes into every game very calm. Nothing really bothers her. She’s just ready to pitch,” said Medomak Valley catcher Arianna Sproul. “She just goes after everybody.”

Nicholls kept things simple. She made sure to pitch inside to York’s top hitters, and relied primarily on her fastball.

“We just went at them with fastballs. We didn’t use a changeup because I didn’t want to give (York) a chance to crank one 300 feet. These girls can hit,” said Medomak Valley coach Richard Vannah. “Sidney’s just incredible. She just has a poise about her I’ve never seen. She’s very quiet. She doesn’t want any accolades. She doesn’t want to speak to the press or want a trophy. She’s just incredible.”

The Panthers scored the only run they needed in the top of the first inning. Peyton Eaton led off with a walk and eventually raced home when Claudia Feeley’s sharp grounder up the middle ricocheted off York pitcher Maren Robinson to shortstop Piper Catanese, who made the throw to first for an out as Eaton scored.

Medomak Valley added a run in the fourth when Eaton doubled home Grace Havener. The Panthers broke the game open in the fifth with three runs, the big hit a two-run double by Kendall Simmons.

When the Wildcats did make good contact, it was right at a Medomak Valley defender who made the play.

“They understand the game of softball is a tough game. This happens,” Gianinno said.

Vannah was an assistant coach with the Panthers in 2008 and 2009 when the team won its last regional titles. His daughter, Kayla Vannah, pitched for those teams.