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Varsity Maine sent reporters to South Portland and Hall-Dale softball and Lisbon baseball practices on Thursday. Here’s what we learned in Farmingdale:
Near the end of practice on Thursday evening, Tim Soule lined up the Hall-Dale softball team at one of the baselines of the basketball court.
Soule walked to midcourt, had the team run directly to him, and promptly ended the practice, giving the Bulldogs a bit of relief in a preseason that, so far, has been indoors.
Over the past five seasons, the Bulldogs have been one of the best softball programs in the state, winning four consecutive Class C titles from 2021-24, and nearly a fifth in a row. The Bulldogs fell 6-2 to Bucksport in last year’s state final.
Hall-Dale normally enters the spring with lofty expectations, but the Bulldogs have a new head coach and a young roster. Here’s what we learned about the Bulldogs on Thursday.
YOUNG PUPS
The Bulldogs aren’t just young. They’re, well … puppies. Hall-Dale graduated a large contingent of its remaining roster from the four-year title run, including C/3B Jade Graham, SS Torie Tibbetts and pitcher Lucy Gray. This spring, there will be four or five freshmen starters, including at pitcher and catcher. Maddie Coro is the team’s lone senior, and multiple sophomores and juniors gained varsity experience last year.
“I think we have fun when we need to have fun (at practice), but we lock in when we need to lock in,” Coro said.
“We’re also supportive of each other when we need to be,” added junior Genevieve Ciccarelli. “We look forward to everyone improving (each day) and being better than they were yesterday.”
NEW BUT FAMILIAR LEADER
Soule was previously an assistant under former head coach Steve Acedo, who returned to the program each of the past two seasons despite moving from Maine to Texas. Soule helped prepare many of the players responsible for Hall-Dale’s dynasty through his work with the travel and middle school programs. He’s also the father of Emma and Zoe Soule, two of the top players who have come through the program in recent years. Both are now playing for Simmons College in Massachusetts.
“I was excited to get going from the get-go, but working with this group for the last two weeks, I’m even more excited. This is a cool little group,” Soule said.
Patience with the young players will certainly be a key to the season, but Soule — who breaks practices down by the minute — will still have high expectations as the Bulldogs work through the season.
“One of the early things we’ve talked about is: Own the tradition,” Soule said. “We do have a tradition, but we don’t have a ton of personal attention to it. We have some kids that played with that group, but were at times playing in the shadow, hoping to get in (games) and try to not screw it up. We’ve told the girls that they have to go out and not be intimidated by the tradition. They have to go out and make their own piece and take their own piece of it. And they’ve embraced it.”
OLD PALS
Hall-Dale is moving forward, but with a nod to the past. Soule plans to bring former players to help with the high school, middle and youth programs at various times.
Among those is former pitching standout Ashlynn Donahue, who is in the middle of her sophomore season at Division III Ripon College in Wisconsin.