It wasn’t so much the distance that may have bothered the Poland Regional High School softball team most. After losing at York, the Knights had plenty of time to dwell on the defeat.

So Wednesday, the Knights were looking to bounce back in a big way.

“I think we came into this game with a little bitter taste in our mouths,” Poland coach Kat McKay said. “Monday didn’t got as we’d hoped. We didn’t play well and we came into today thinking we needed to figure this out.”

The Knights had ample solutions Wednesday and plenty of pop in the bat as Poland pounded Cape Elizabeth 11-1.

“We wanted this game and everyone was on the ball,” senior catcher Kelsey DeBurra said. “We definitely deserved it, I think.  Since my freshman year on varsity, we haven’t beaten them. So this is very big for us. I’m very proud of my team.”

The Capers (7-6) beat Poland 2-0 in the Western B quarters last year. With playoff positioning at stake, a win over Cape was a significant measuring stick for the Knights.

“We’ve been up against them in playoffs every single year and we’ve always fallen short,” senior outfielder Emily Gibson said. “Last year, we were so close. To finally get it this year, it’s such a big step for us. Our slogan has been to ‘Finish it’ and to finish it with this game and finish our season playing the way we’ve been playing and up to our potential is really exciting.”

Poland (10-3) cranked out 19 hits. The top five batters for the Knight produced 15 of those hits and scored eight runs.

“It’s been different players at different times,” Gibson said. “Everybody else has been stepping up. There’s not really any weak spots at all. We all know our roles on the team and know our roles up to bat, and we’ve been getting it done.”

Michaella Arsenault had four hits, scored three runs and had two RBI. Gisbon had three hits and three RBI while Haley Whitworth had three hits and two RBI. DeBurra also had three hits and plated a run.

“Once we get one, we don’t stop until we get many more,” DeBurra said. 

Pitcher Kylie Martin allowed just four hits and struck out five. Though Cape got a run in the first and produced two hits and a walk, Martin allowed just two hits the rest of the way.

“It usually does take her an inning or two to settle in,” DeBurra said of Martin. “Once she’s on it, she’s on it.”

Martin also got great support in the field. Poland didn’t make an errors and Whitworth in center field was outstanding with a number of diving catches.

“I’ve had her for four years and she’s been saying for four years that she wanted to dive,” McKay said of Whitworth. “Today, she did it twice.”

Ashley Tinsman, who has committed to play at the University of Maine,  and Hannah Saturley each had two hits for the Capers.

It was a Saturley single that followed a Tinsman hit that gave Cape the 1-0 lead in the first with two outs. Poland answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs on five hits.

“We’ve been in worse situations,” McKay said of the early deficit. “The girls decided they were going to fight back.”

Arsenault led off with a triple and scored on a Gibson hit. Whitworth followed with a two-run triple and scored on a Martin single for the 4-1 lead.

Poland added to the lead in the fourth with three runs on another five hits. Arsenault drove in a run with a single off a bad hop that got by the second baseman. DeBurra and Maddy Simard followed with RBI singles for a 7-1 lead.

In the next inning, Arsenault doubled home a run. Gibson had an RBI single and Simard walked with the bases loaded for a 10-1 lead. Gibson added another RBI single in the sixth.

“I have a love-hate relationship with Cape,” McKay said. “We’ve lost to them twice in the last two years in the quarterfinals, but I love every game with them because they’re so competitive.”

kmills@sunjournal.com