PARIS — The Oxford Hills Vikings had a pair of key two-out rallies in the second and third innings en route to the 10-6 win over the Brewer Witches in a KVAC softball contest Friday afternoon at the Gouin Athletic Complex.
With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the second, the Vikings sent 10 batters to the plate and they scored six times in the inning. The inning began with starting pitcher Erika Whitman getting on base on an error by the right fielder and moving to second on sacrifice bunt attempt by Kenzie Kahkonen. After a walk by Kaisa Heikkinen, Brewer starting pitcher Meg Davis got the ninth batter in the lineup, Madision LeBlond, to strikeout.
Erin Morton drove in Whitman and Heikkinen. After a a Madison Starbird single, Anna Piirainen drove Morton and Starbird home. The final two runs in the inning came when Hannah Kenney hit a triple to drive in Piirainen while Keeney came home on a Cody Akers single.
“Even in our game against Bangor, we had a good offensive attack where we scored 12 runs,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “So far this season we have been producing some very good hits and everyone can hit in the lineup. So something that might be an out isn’t an out. We are putting pressure on (the opposition) when we are running. The girls also had confidence going up to the batters box that they can hit the girl.”
The Witches, who were down 6-0 on Wednesday to Edward Little but fell short in the 6-4 loss after a four-run seventh inning, started to chip away at this six-run deficit in the top of the third. Anna Chute came around to scored on a MJ Sellars single. Sellars would come around on a Emily Lord base hit, while Libby Hewes who reached on an error, was tagged out on a close play at home on Hewes hit.
“They have no quit and they really want to win, I think it will come to us in time,” Brewer coach Harry Estes said. “We are a very young team, and hopefully as games keep going, we are going to get closer and closer.”
The Vikings (1-1) need no reminder of the Witches comeback attempt as they were on the wrong end of a comeback Wednesday when the Bangor Rams scored nine in the sixth inning in the 13-12 win.
“We were in that same exact situation when Bangor came back against us,” Goddard said. “We knew they had that capability. They weren’t going to die when they were down. They were going to keep playing hard as always.”
In the bottom of the third, the Vikings scored three more times as eight batters came up to bat. Kahkonen led off with a double. She scored after she stole third and came home on an error by Sellars, the catcher, after she threw the ball to left field with no one was covering third. After Morton and Starbird hit singles, they would come around with the second and third runs of the inning off a Pirrainen single. It also marked the end for Brewer starter Meg Davis. Ally Chapman would come in to get the final out.
“I think we are getting a lot more confident as a team and picking up each other when we are down,” Erin Morton said.
Brewer’s (0-2) bats came alive again in the top of the fifth when the lead off hitter Anna Chute hit a single. She scored on a Hewes single from second. Hewes came around to score on a Lord single, while Sydney Hewes drove in Lord.
The Vikings left a runner in scoring position the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth as Chapman continued in relief.
After Whitman went the first five innings, Akers came on in the sixth for the two-inning save. She put down the Witches 1-2-3 in the sixth and in the seventh she faced four batters and struck out Lord to end the game. It was her second strikeout of the game and allowed no hits in the relief effort.
Whitman allowed six runs on seven hits, one walk and struck out four.
“When someone starts giving up runs or getting hit, that’s the luxury we have and that’s we have more than one pitcher,” Goddard said. “That’s what we did against Bangor, but Bangor responded and were able to hit on all three of our pitchers.”
nfournier@sunjournal.com
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