If you follow softball in central Maine, you probably remember Monica White, the 2006 Cony High School grad best known for striking out 30 in a 1-0, 17-inning win over Skowhegan in the 2006 Eastern A semifinals. White is now a junior at Rivier College in New Hampshire, and the zeroes continue to pile up.

This afternoon I saw a softball game in which Sacopee Valley pitcher Whitney Stacey was called for two illegal pitches in the seventh inning against Madison. The last of those two came with two out and runners on second and third, and allowed the winning run to score.

Messalonskee softball coach Leo Bouchard made a promise, and his players were doubtful he would actually go through with it. But the Eagles lived up to their end of the bargain, so Bouchard lived up to his.

Skowhegan coach Lee Johnson has much more than a casual interest in the final Eastern A Heal points standings. Five teams get a first-round bye in Eastern A, and entering the week, Oxford Hills, Skowhegan and Hampden were within five points of each other in the battle for the No. 5 spot.

Of course, a first-round bye doesn’t guarantee anything — Skowhegan won the bracket from the No. 12 seed last spring, beating No. 6 Cony in the regional final. Still, it’s fun to speculate on the final standings, so Paul McCarty, one of Johnson’s assistants, got out his calculator.

“My buddy Paul did it before it came out on Tuesday, and he was right on the button,” Johnson said.

This was one of those games that was interesting from beginning to end. there was only one 1-2-3 inning, and Maranacook certainly earned its 4-3 victory Tuesday afternoon.

I saw a wild and exciting KVAC B softball game Friday afternoon. Maranacook beat Winslow 2-1 in eight innings. You hear a final score like that and you naturally think there weren't a lot of scoring chances. This game was just the opposite.

It was a crazy day at LaVerdiere Field Wednesday afternoon as Winslow hosted Oak Hill. There were four home runs (or five, depending on who was keeping score), a bizarre play in the infield, and one of the shortest rain delays on record.

First, thanks to all of you who clicked on this after reading the high school notebook in the Morning Sentinel. Second, as promised, here's a look at some of the biggest games over the next several days:

Friday was crossover day for Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A softball teams. All told, there were eight matchups between North and South Division teams.

On this day, the North had the clear edge. The northerners went 8-0, outscoring the South, 43-19.

The fans who stayed outside under blankets and layers of clothing saw a rare feat Wednesday afternoon as Hall-Dale hosted Madison in softball action. In the first inning, Hall-Dale senior pitcher Jocelyn Tripp struck out the side on the minimum nine pitches.

How often do you retire 20 batters in a row and still come away with a loss? It happened to Erskine sophomore pitcher Sam Morse on Monday. Morse finished with a one-hitter, but Winslow won 2-1 by scoring a pair of unearned runs in the first inning.

Aren't you glad winter's gone? Wednesday morning was great for watching softball, and there was an interesting matchup as Nokomis beat host Skowhegan 5-0. Nokomis pitcher Patrice Cianchette tossed a no-hitter and the Warriors had 12 hits, but this wasn't really a mismatch.

Messalonskee and Lawrence are two of the youngest teams in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A. They met in Monday's season opener, and Messalonskee is the better team at this point. The Eagles won, 17-3, in five innings.

Patrice Cianchette of Nokomis and Jordan Kennedy of Maine Central Institute are two of the top pitchers in their respective leagues. Nokomis plays in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A, while MCI plays in the KVAC B.

Next season, both Cianchette and Kennedy will be playing at Thomas College in Waterville.