SACO – John Provost had a very specific message for his pitcher, Julia Geaumont after she nearly pleaded with him to let her run the bases.

“I told her if she was going to run,” said Provost, “she was going to have to hit the ball a long ways.”

So she did.

Geaumont, a pitcher at Thornton Academy, put together a stunning senior season. She went 14-2 with a 0.66 earned-run average in the regular season to help the Trojans to the No. 2 seed in Western Class A, striking out 136 batters in 96 innings. She also hit .679 with 10 home runs, eight doubles, three triples and 35 RBI.

“It was just a dominating season,” said Provost.

So dominating that Geau-mont, who will attend Bowdoin College and play softball for the Polar Bears, is the Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year. She also swept the Gatorade Maine Softball Player of the Year and Miss Maine Softball awards.

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Geaumont, who pitched every inning of her four-year career, was humbly honored to receive the accolades.

“It just shows if you put in a lot of effort, you’re going to get recognized and going to get rewarded,” she said.

Her work ethic is legendary at Thornton Academy. Geaumont gave up all other sports after her sophomore year to concentrate on softball. “I enjoyed it and I liked the opportunities it had to offer,” she said. “And I knew if I wanted to excel at it, which I did, I had to give up the other stuff and focus on it.”

She trained six days a week at the Parisi Speed School in Saco, often joined by rivals (and friends) Mo Hannan and Erin Giles of Scarborough and Shelby Bryant of McAuley. “We definitely pushed each other to get better,” she said.

She lifted four days a week and worked on her speed the other two. On her “off day,” she would pitch and hit.

“It all created a lot of endurance for me,” she said. “Everything I did became second nature. I was confident going out there.”

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She had 36 hits in the regular season, and allowed only 34 as a pitcher.

In a 4-3 win over Kennebunk, Geaumont hit two home runs, including a walk-off homer.

“It was really something to see,” said Kennebunk Coach Jim Lang. “I loved watching her pitch. She battled, really hit her spots. She was one of the few kids who could pitch inside consistently. She worked the zone.

“She fielded her position flawlessly. And then, from an offensive standpoint, she got better every year.” 

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

 


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