Buckfiled High School softball teammates and sisters Abby, left and Hannah Shields

BUCKFIELD — Sandy Albert found herself in a situation no softball coach wants to encounter.

She lost her ace during a midseason doubleheader, then her backup pitcher went out with an injury in the first inning two games later.

Thankfully for Albert, she had a third option.

“You don’t have that very often in Class D,” Albert, Buckfield’s head coach, said. “Usually you have one or two, and then if something happens, you’re in trouble.”

The Bucks avoided any trouble, thanks to senior Abby Shields stepping in to the circle. It helped that Shields wasn’t unfamiliar with the position.

“She threw … when we did preseason (drills),” Albert said. “I’m glad that we did, because you never know.”

Still, the first action of the regular season was a little rocky for Shields.

“It was very stressful and nerve-wracking, because I hadn’t pitched in forever, but we got through it,” Shields said.

What aided Shields was having her sister, sophomore Hannah, behind the plate catching.

“She’s caught for me my whole life,” Abby said.

Hannah said she didn’t say much to her sister after that first inning of work against Rangeley.

“I told her she did a good job and just to keep throwing like she was,” Hannah said.

The sisters do more talking after the game.

“We talk about it a lot. We go home and tell each other what we think and how each other did, let each other know the truth,” Hannah said. “Tell it how it is.”

Both sisters said they don’t have any problem being critical with the other.

They both had their work cut out for them in Abby’s second start of the season. After finishing off that first game against Rangeley, then another win over the Lakers three days later, the Bucks had to face rival Richmond for the second time this season, but the first with Abby toeing the rubber.

“I was ready. I was prepared for it. But it was stressful,” Abby said. “We have to pitch around them more. It’s definitely harder.”

“It’s harder for me because I have to know when to hit the corners, and try to have her hit the corners, and not throw a meatball down the middle,” Hannah said. “It’s really me telling her where to put it, and her putting it there. So me putting the pressure on her to hit the spots, and I just do what I can to keep it away from them.”

Those rival Bobcats happen to be on an 80-plus-game winning streak, and handed the Bucks their only loss up prior to Shields taking over at pitcher.

That second start for Shields became the second loss for the Bucks, who finished the regular season 14-2. Buckfield committed nine errors in the 12-1 loss, but the Bobcats’ offense started with a home run.

“When somebody hits a home run off you, sometimes you can crumble a little bit,” Albert said. “Didn’t bother her a bit.

“She did fine, though, and she just stayed with it. I just tell her, ‘Keep throwing it. Just throw strikes, that’s what we need.’ She doesn’t walk that many. She doesn’t strike out a lot, but she throws strikes and helps the defense work.”

Abby Shields said she has a lot of trust in her defense. Games against teams such as Richmond can bring out the worst in teams. Albert said the whole team moved on after that loss.

Since then, the Bucks won a close game against Traip Academy and collected blowout wins over Temple Academy and Valley to finish off the regular season. Shields allowed just 10 runs combined in the trio of games.

The Buckfield offense totaled 36 runs in those same three games, and Hannah Shields’ bat was a big a reason for the surge.

“We’re really, really lucky to have her. And I say it almost every time I see her in a game,” Albert said. “It’s not just her catching ability, but it’s her hitting.”

Albert felt comfortable estimating that Shields is hitting over .600, with extra-base power to boot.

Abby Shields said “it’s great” to have the run support from her sister, giving her room for error in most contests.

That margin of error will shrink now that the postseason is upon the Bucks, who still have their sights set on a run.

Third-seeded Buckfield may be down to its third pitcher, but that hasn’t put a damper on the Bucks’ spirits.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but I think it will be OK,” Abby said.

Hannah said having chemistry with her sister will be “really important” in the playoffs.

“We got to depend on each other,” Hannah said. “Got to depend on her to hit the spots, and just got to keep each other’s heads up.”

While she’s staring down her sister behind the plate and opposing batters to either side of it, Abby Shields will be staring down her final high school games. Her times taking the mound may be few this season, but she’s a veteran in the circle that the Bucks can depend on.

“She’s pitched all of her life, so she knows what she has to do,” Albert said.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Buckfiled High School softball teammates and sisters Abby, left and Hannah Shields Copy the Story Link