PARIS — The Edward Little Red Eddies softball team went back to the drawing board after Thursday’s loss to Lewiston. They bounced back Friday against the Oxford Hills Vikings with a 7-2 victory at Gouin Field Complex.
“Today, they battled,” EL coach Elaine Derosby said. “We told them yesterday it was on them. We have given them everything. They have the skills and they want to have mentally want it. Today in pregame, that was the most perfect pregame all the year. I knew they were all ready from top-to-bottom, one through thirteen. This team was ready to go, no matter what (their job was) today.”
EL (6-1) turned to sophomore Kylie Bureau for her first start of the season. She went the distance, striking out five and giving up seven hits.
“It felt good. I was really excited about it,” Bureau said. “The team played really well around (me), which made it easier.”
The Red Eddies quickly jumped on Vikings starter Cody Akers in the first inning when Emmy Lashua and Bureau jumped on the first two pitches of the game for back-to-back singles. They moved into scoring position when Akers threw a wild pitch to the third hitter, Sarah Hammond. Later in the at-bat, Hammond laid down a sacrifice bunt, but with good defense, the Vikings (3-4) turned a 5-3-2 double play.
“We had to battle back from a little emotion from yesterday,” Derosby said. “The game plan, we changed it up a little bit. The coaching staff talked and we changed our game plan for the first inning, and it almost worked perfectly.”
Akers got out of the first inning unscathed when she got the cleanup hitter, Jordyn Reynolds, to fly out to the left fielder.
Again the Red Eddies had runners on second and third in the top of the second. Maddie Thistlwaite reached on an error with one out and Karli Stubbs smacked a double. The inning ended when Grace Russell grounded out.
“They hit well and we would make a little more mistakes, a passed ball puts them into scoring position,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “Their pitcher did a great job. We had some good hits, but they made some great defensive plays behind(her).
In the top of the third, EL had runners to second and third after a lead-off single by Emmy Lashua and a Sarah Hammond double. Reynolds’ sacrifice fly to right brought in Lashua and a Beaudet single brought home Hammond for a 2-0 lead.
Oxford cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Madison Starbird scored on a Kenzi Kahkonen double.
In the fourth, the Red Eddies broke the game open as three runs came across the plate. Taylor Depot started the inning off by hitting a single, but later would be thrown out stealing third. Stubbs reached on a walk and scored the first run. Lashua singled and scored on Bureau’s double. Bureau scored on a Reynolds single.
Akers’ day ended after Bureau’s double. Cara Hooker came in relief.
Oxford Hill’s went down 1-2-3 in the second and fifth innings as Bureau got the Viking to swing early in the count throughout the game.
“We usually let the batter try to make that decision,” Goddard said of swing at the first couple of pitches. “That first strike might be one of their favorite pitches (to hit). We don’t try to take that away from them. Hopefully they can learn to find one that they can hit hard. They know they have to defend when they have two strikes on them.”
Thistlwaite scored in the fifth when she came home after Oxford threw to first on a drop third strike. She also came around for the seventh run in the seventh.
“She’s just a sophomore and she’s still learning the game,” Derosby said of Thistlewaite. “I think people underestimate her and she got this mindset that I am good as anyone. When she’s ready, she’s going to go and she will give us everything her body can give us.”
Anna Piirainen scored Oxford’s second run in the sixth when she singled and pinch hitter Madison LeBlond drove her in with a double.
nfournier@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
