LEWISTON — The Oxford Hills Vikings scored in various ways in a 7-1 victory over the Lewiston Blue Devils in a KVAC softball action Monday afternoon.
“The first couple of runs, I think it was on their errors,” Oxford Hills coach Cynthia Goddard said. “We started to hit that produced our own (runs). Erika did a great job on the mound and our defense really had some great defensive plays to shut them down offensively.”
They also received good pitching from Erika Whitman, who went the distance as she allowed only one run on seven hits, striking out six and not allowing a walk.
“My change up was working really well,” Erika Whitman said. “That was basically what I went with. It was kind of a tight strike zone and I was trying to hit (the zone) where they couldn’t hit hit.”
The Vikings got redemption as the Blue Devils won the previous matchup of the season 2-1 back nearly a month ago.
Lewiston’s bats have gone silent for six games now when it lost to Messalonskee 2-1.
“We are doing everything to get them back,” Lewiston coach Mike Childs said. “Defensively, we aren’t playing that bad, but we aren’t hitting. That’s the name of the game, you got to hit.”
In the top of the first inning, the No. 2 hitter Madison Starbird reached on single, and after two walks, the bases were loaded. Lewiston catcher Lexi Poulin gunned a throw to second base to try to pick off Kenize Kahkonen who was off the base. Kahkonen got back to the base under the tag, but allowed Starbird to come home for the 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils got out of the inning without allowing anymore runs. Poulin led off the bottom half of the first with a double to left-center field. Megan Theriault drove her in. Whitman got the next two batters to fly out to left field to end the inning.
Oxford Hills (9-4-1) used small ball to take the lead for good. Whitman reached on a single and Madison LeBlond came in as a courtesy runner. Cody Akers dropped a sac bunt that allowed LeBlond to reach third. LeBlond would later score on a pass ball.
“We are lucky, we have a lot of good speed, we try to gamble,” Goddard said. “Just like the gamble on the bunt and occasionally they payoff.”
Whenever the Blue Devils (7-7) did get something going offensively, it came to a quick halt. Poulin reached first on an error in the bottom of the third inning, but was thrown out trying to steal second base. The Devils left Emily Mousseau and Megan Theriault stranded in the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Alison Porter reaches on an error. Poulin tried to move her to second base with a grounder hit into center field, but Oxford Hills’ center fielder Hannah Kenney jumped on the ball quickly and forced Porter out at second base. Mousseau, who followed Poulin, flied out to end the inning.
“If we are hitting ball hard, we are hitting right at them,” Childs said. “Otherwise than that, we aren’t taking good swings, we aren’t going with the pitch and let’s give Oxford Hills some credit. These girls and coach Goddard has her team playing some excellent ball right now.”
In the top of the fourth, the bottom two hitters in the Vikings lineup, Cody Akers and Kaisa Heikkinen reached base as Akers was hit by a pitch while Heikkinen worked a walk. Erin Morton single loaded the bases and Starbird drove in Akers and Heikkinen with a double.
“I think it kind of deflated Lewiston in that inning a little bit,” Goddard said. “We were starting to get some momentum and I think they had a hard time responding to that.”
It was the end of Lewiston’s starter Danielle Cyr’s day as Jordan Mynahan came in relief. Mynahan got out of the inning as Kahkonen hit a ball right back to her and Mynahan underhanded it to Poulin to get Morton at the plate. Kenney flied out to end the inning.
The next time Oxfords Hills went to bat, Anna Piirainen walked and Whitman singled. Both were lifted for courtesy runners and Heikkinen single drove in two runs. She later scored when Morton got on base when the ball was thrown into the Oxford Hills dugout at the first base. Morton was awarded second base on the play.
nfourner@sunjournal.com
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