DIXFIELD — When Ashley Savage gets on base, she’s not there to take in the scenery.
Telstar’s senior lead-off hitter looks to move whenever she reaches base. If the batting order behind her gives her the chance, she’ll do just that.
“As soon as I get on the bases, I know I have to run,” said Savage. “You never know if someone else will get you in or not. So you just have to be aggressive on the bases.”
In rainy and sometimes sloppy conditions, Savage wasn’t standing still. Her hustle on the bases gave the Rebels an early advantage Friday. Savage scored Telstar’s first two runs and the Rebels later expanded on that lead for a 5-1 victory over Dirigo.
“I know I appreciated that,” said Telstar pitcher Olivia York of the early lead. “We scored one run in the first inning, but we haven’t been scoring in the first inning against these good teams. So once we got one run, it was encouraging.”
York hurled a four-hitter and struck out 11 Cougars for the win. Dirigo (4-5) had just two hits through the first five innings but scored one run in the sixth on two hits. The Cougars stranded two in that inning.
“If we capitalized early on and had gotten a run or two on the board to answer theirs, it would have set a very different tone in the game,” Dirigo coach Sara Thurston said.
The early runs were key since Dirigo’s pitcher Katelyn Olsen matched York’s performance. Olsen allowed only four hits and struck out 11. She struggled with walks late under wet conditions but kept the Cougars in the game.
“My pitcher threw well, and their pitcher threw well,” Telstar coach Jim Lunney said. “We had good speed and that got us the lead. Playing catch-up is not easy to do.”
Savage led off the game with a single and advanced on a York bunt hit. She scored on a wild pitch. She raced her way to another run in the third. She was hit by a pitch and advanced on a York sacrifice. She scored on a passed ball for the 2-0 lead.
“It was certainly important to get runs in the first couple of innings instead of waiting,” Savage said. “You have to stay aggressive the whole entire game but especially in the first couple of innings. You have to get on base and get the first runs in because it throws the other team off.”
Dirigo couldn’t answer early on. Emma Lueders singled in the first but was stranded there. Becca Dailey singled and Ellie Jasper reached on an error in the third, but the Rebels (9-1) escaped unscathed.
“I think our bats just got started a little bit late,” Thurston said. “Starting out with them getting a run right at the get-go, it set a little bit of a tempo. But I didn’t think the girls put their heads down at any point in the game.”
Telstar added to the lead with two runs in the sixth. Becca Howard doubled and later scored on a Tehya Johnson fielder’s choice. Johnson eventually scored on an error on a Hayley Peterson hit.
Dirigo got one back in the bottom of the inning, Mariah Lafleur tripled and scored on an error on an Ellie Jasper bunt.
“I was really proud of a lot of things that the girls did that we haven’t done this year,” Thurston said.
Telstar made it 5-1 in the seventh when York walked. Olsen had three walks in the innings and pinch-runner Kylee Martin eventually scored on a wild pitch.
York put Dirigo down in order to end the game and finished with back-to-back strikeouts. York said she had to battle through the soggy weather but was ready for this outing, especially against a quality pitcher like Olsen.
“I definitely took this game seriously coming into it,” York said. “They’re a good team. They have a good pitcher and they can hit.”
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