High School Softball

Medomak Valley to play Maine, Connecticut teams during Florida softball trip

Thu, 03/08/2018 - 11:00am

WALDOBORO — The Medomak Valley varsity softball team will hit the road this season for quite the road trip and have finally learned who their opponents will be for the road trip. 

The Panthers will arrive on Tuesday, April 10 in Orlando, Florida where the team will partake in exhibition softball contests at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex. The team will return to the Midcoast on Tuesday, April 17. 

Medomak Valley will play eight exhibition contests while in Florida against five Connecticut teams and three Maine teams. The game schedule and opponent outlook are listed at the end of this story. 

In a January interview about the trip, Panthers head coach Richard Vannah said the trip “is a tremendous growth opportunity​ ​for these​ ​you​ng​ ladies.” 

RELATED: Medomak Valley softball eager for ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to Florida

The most important reason for this trip is to “provide​ an opportunity for the players to bond, grow and enjoy a world class experience,” Vannah stated.

The Panthers head coach also noted the experience will be a “once in a lifetime” event, especially for the kids who “rarely leave the area, let alone spend a week away from home.”

Vannah noted part of the reason the team is opting to go this season, as opposed to others, is due to the fact the Panthers returns its entire 15 member squad from its 2017 campaign.

The team will end up missing four days of school as spring break does not occur until the week of Monday, April 16, but Vannah has already put together an academic game-plan with the team and school personnel.

“We have asked our players to meet with their teachers in order to plan ahead while we are away,” Vannah said. “We will carve out time in the schedule for studying​ and​ school work.” ​

To cover the costs of the trip — which was estimated at around $25,000 — the team has been fundraising since last summer. The team will host a final basketball tournament fundraiser hosted at Medomak Valley High School and Medomak Middle School for seventh and eighth graders March 23-24.  

OPPONENT OUTLOOKS

Medomak Valley will get its first taste of competition with a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 11 against Simsbury High School of Connecticut. Medomak Valley will scrimmage with the Simsbury junior varsity team at 10 a.m. and the Simsbury varsity team at noon. The Simsbury varsity team went at least 5-9 last season, though it appears many game scores were not reported. 

The Panthers will face two Maine teams on Thursday, April 12 with Biddeford at 4 p.m. and Windham at 6 p.m. Biddeford finished last season with an 8-11 record while Windham went 14-5 last season.

On Saturday, April 14, Medomak Valley will face St. Paul High School of Connecticut at 8 a.m. and Thornton Academy at noon. Last season, St. Paul went 20-6 and finished as state runner ups. Thornton Academy finished 14-5 last season. 

The team will close out its Florida exhibition series on Sunday, April 15 against East Haven High School of Connecticut. The Panthers will face the East Haven “A” team at noon and the East Haven “B” team at 2 p.m. East Haven finished last season with a 12-9 record. 


Reach George Harvey and the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com