RUMFORD — After a disappointing loss on a soaked and soggy Friday, the sun came out for the Mountain Valley softball team Saturday in more ways than one.
The Falcons bounced back in a big way with a 9-5 win over Winthrop, helping to erase the frustration of a loss by the same score against Hall-Dale in the rain Friday.
“We had a tough loss, and we made a lot of errors,” junior catcher Abby Mazza said. “We were trying not to let that happen again.”
The Falcons broke open a 2-0 lead with five runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. All but two starters scored for Mountain Valley (5-4) and just about everyone either had a hit or an RBI.
“Coming off a tough loss, that motivated us today,” said senior shortstop Karen Flaherty. “Being in Class B, we really need these games because we need all the Heal Points we can get.”
The Falcons were ranked 11th in Class B South and would like a bump in the standings. Despite the loss to the Bulldogs, Mountain Valley has won three of its past four and scored 49 runs in the last four outings. The Falcons hope Saturday’s rebound performance sets the tone for the upcoming week. Mountain Valley finishes the regular season facing a number of potential playoff teams — Oak Hill, Monmouth, Telstar, Dirigo and Lisbon.
“We need these next few wins,” Mazza said. “So we needed the motivation because we’re not placed very high. We have a busy week next week where we need some wins.”
The loss was the fifth consecutive setback for Winthrop (2-7). The Ramblers are just outside the Class C South playoff picture and need wins themselves. Pitcher Layne Audet produced a solid performance, but Winthrop was plagued by eight errors in the field.
“It’s been a long week,” Winthrop coach Chuck Gurney said. “It was our fifth game in six days. We start four freshmen and they’re a tired bunch. Layne’s a freshman, and she’s thrown a lot of innings this year. She does a good job.”
Emily Laubauskas earned the win for the Falcons, scattering seven hits. She, along with Flaherty, Grace Briggs, Kelli Trenoweth and Kassie Thibodeau each had two hits. Laubauskas, Mazza, Flaherty and Thibodeau also drove in runs for Mountain Valley.
“We’ve had a pretty good offensive season,” Flaherty said. “The pitcher (Friday) was really good and fast, and we struggled, especially wth the weather. It was raining most of the time.”
The Falcons didn’t have that issue Saturday afternoon. With some bright sunshine and warm temperatures, the Falcons’ bats heated up and started cranking out the hits.
“Yesterday we weren’t hitting great,” said Mazza, who also threw out two runners trying to steal. “It was partly because of the weather. We are a good hitting team. We practice a lot. I think we just wanted it today. We definitely wanted to hit the ball because we know we’re a good team when we hit.”
Mountain Valley scored once in the first when Flaherty doubled and came home on a double steal with Sydney Petrie. Then in the third, Laubauskas doubled and scored on a Mazza fielder’s choice.
“Our bats started coming back and we started hitting like we’re used to,” Flaherty said.
The Falcons built the lead to 7-0 with five runs in the fourth on three hits and two errors. Thibodeau had a scorching liner that drove in a run. The other runs came in on errors or fielder’s choice RBI by Laubauskas and Flaherty.
In the fifth, an error on a Liza White grounder plated two more for a 9-0 lead.
Winthrop made it interesting in the sixth. The Falcons unraveled a bit with four errors and the Ramblers got within 9-5. Kayleigh Oberg and Kate Perkins each had RBI singles and Audet doubled in a pair. Winthrop had a runner on second with two outs and Tess Moody at the plate, but the final out was called for an illegal substitution. The Ramblers used a courtesy runner that wasn’t listed on the roster.
“That was my fault,” Gurney said. “She was out sick yesterday and my normal scorekeeper wasn’t here. So I copied down yesterday’s lineup and forgot about her.”
Laubauskas put them away in the seventh with a pair of strike outs and a pop back to the circle. The Ramblers finished with two hits each from Oberg, Hanna Capara and Audet. Oberg, the catcher, nearly didn’t play because of an injury from Friday’s loss to Lisbon.
“We had a few mistakes in the field that hurt us,” Gurney said. “There’s a lot of young kids with four freshmen in the lineup. With a young team and with five games in six days, the mental breakdowns will happen. We’re getting there little by little.”
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