CASTLETON, Vt. — Oxbow High softball was one out away from a Vermont Principals Association Division III state title when head coach Chuck Simmons took a trip to the mound.
The Olympians were leading BFA-Fairfax, 8-5, after a three-run sixth inning, but the Bullets had launched a two-out rally, scoring once and loading the bases.
Simmons reassured his girls while containing his own nerves.
After the mound visit, BFA-Fairfax’s Jaycee Douglas hit a weak pop-up along the first base line.
Oxbow senior catcher Aspen Longmoore secured the final out, and the Olympians flooded out of the dugout to celebrate the program’s ninth state title.
Simmons was worried about a collision on the last play.
“When I see my first baseman and catcher going for the same ball and I don’t hear nothing, I’m going ‘Just don’t drop it,’ ” Simmons said. “It was amazing to have that pause in moment — it was like being frozen in time — to realize the ball was still in the glove. It was a split second of, ‘We caught it! Game’s over with!’ And then I was like, ‘Yes!’ ”
Oxbow (16-1) fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first. The next few innings turned into a pitcher’s duel between Oxbow eighth grader Anastase Bourgeois and BFA-Fairfax’s Taylor Mitchell. The Olympians were hitless through three innings, but their first hit of the game was a doozy: a two-run home run by senior second baseman Emma DeGoosh in the fourth.
Despite the slow offensive start, Simmons had faith his hitters would turn it around; he thought they were seeing the ball well.
DeGoosh, however, said she surprised herself by being the one to break through. She cleared the fence in center field to give Oxbow a 2-1 lead.
“I’m a sacrifice bunter. I don’t ever get on base. I move the runners around,” DeGoosh said. “And after the first at-bat, I said ‘I’m not bunting. I’m done bunting. I’m going to hit it.’ And (Simmons) said, ‘OK, you go ahead.’ And he helped me fix my swing, and there it was.”
Bourgeois was already very nervous entering the game. She said she didn’t shake the jitters until her team took the lead. Surrendering the first-inning run didn’t help calm her down, but she settled in nonetheless.
“I was kind of nervous because we weren’t getting good contact on the ball. But once we scored the first runs on the home run, I was a lot more cooled off,” Bourgeois said. “And I had lots of faith in my teammates.”
Three of the six runs Bourgeois gave up were earned. She gave up seven hits, five walks, and one hit batter, while racking up nine strikeouts.
DeGoosh’s home run changed the tenor of the game — it would be an offensive battle the rest of the way.
BFA tied it up in the fifth, only to see Oxbow answer with three in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-2 lead.
The Bullets then tied the game again in the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Oxbow freshman shortstop Lily Lahaye led off with a triple.
With one out, freshman left fielder Faith Eastman brought her home on a sacrifice bunt to give Oxbow a 6-5 lead.
Later in the inning, Longmoore hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run that provided crucial insurance.
Longmoore and Lahaye both finished with multi-hit games.
The Olympians battled through some close games during the regular season — notably, a five-run comeback against eventual Division II champs Lyndon.
Simmons said that experience in close games paid dividends in the biggest game of the season.
“They’re headstrong. These girls are super-headstrong,” Simmons said. “They knew what it took to be a winner, and they knew they can get down. And I think me being positive through the whole thing only helped that situation out.
“We beat the Division II champions and gave them their only loss, and then to come out here and be the champions, I can’t ask for a better group of girls than I’ve had. It’s amazing.”
It’s Oxbow’s first softball state title since 2018.
Simmons, never shy about showing passion on the field, led the Olympians to glory in his first season as head coach.
DeGoosh, who was part of the 2018 team, knew what it took to go all the way. And she was confident Simmons was the coach to lead them back from the very beginning.
“(This title) means everything,” DeGoosh said. “This is my senior year, and last year we didn’t get to have (a season). Last year we were going for (a title), and I was on the committee that picked Chuck, and I wanted him just as much as the next person. And I’m so glad he got to be our coach.”
Seth Tow can be contacted at stow@vnews.com.