DANFORTH, Maine — In his 10 seasons at the helm of the East Grand softball team, coach Shaun Beaudoin has seen a number of talented players come up through the program.
His team’s have also experienced a fair amount of success, qualifying for the Class D playoffs for the past six consecutive seasons. The Vikings finished 8-6 during the regular season a year ago, which earned the team the No. 9 seed in Eastern Class D.
The Vikings traveled to No. 8 Ashland in a preliminary playoff held at Presque Isle. East Grand won that game 13-2, but then fell to No. 1 Limestone-MSSM 7-0 in the quarterfinals to finish with a 9-7 overall record.
East Grand will be without the services of Greater Houlton Christian Academy players this year, which means two key athletes from a year ago — Jenah Carver (the Vikings top hitter) and Raveena Angotti (an outfielder) — will not be playing in Danforth this year.
However the team does return six starters and if the pitching develops, the Vikings should once again be a playoff contender.
Returning members for East Grand include senior Kim Stoddard (catcher); juniors Sarah Stoddard (pitcher/shortstop) and Sami Dube (outfield); sophomores Haleigh Shay (pitcher/infield), Kianna Caissie (utility), Emili Russell (infield) and Nikki Simon (outfield); and freshman Mallory Gilman (infield).
New players to the team this year are senior Bethany Lindsey (outfield), freshman Charlene Starks (utility) and eighth-grader Jordyn Cowger (infield).
“The girls will have to hit and score runs to take pressure off a young pitching staff,” coach Beaudoin said. “We have an expectation of making the playoffs, and the girls have set that as a goal this season.”
East Grand opens its season Tuesday, April 26 at Shead of Eastport. Other key games in the first half of the season include Wisdom on April 29 and Washburn on May 6.
