Ames came on in relief in that outing, but it wasn’t a good day for her Skowhegan team — the Indians were mercy-ruled. Ames didn’t want to dwell on that entering Saturday’s tourney semifinal, but, she couldn’t help herself.
“I was a little upset at first about that the last game,” Ames said. “I said to myself that wanted to beat them and wanted to get my head in the right place.”
It didn’t take long for the Vikings to see a very different pitcher Saturday. Ames was dominant and helped hurl her Indians to an 8-3 win over second-ranked Oxford Hills. Skowhegan advances to Tuesday’s Class A North championship game against No. 4 Edward Little.
The Vikings beat the Indians 16-3 a month ago in cold and blustery conditions.
Saturday, Skowhegan built a 3-0 lead in the second and Ames shut down any Viking threat from there. The Vikings had gone 9-0-1 since then, not including the KVAC championship game.
“We performed a little different today than we did that first game,” Skowhegan coach Lee Johnson, whose team won the state title in 2014, said. “We didn’t help ourselves in that game. Credit them, they put pressure on us and we didn’t handle things very well either. We’re a very young team and we played very young at that point. Right now, we’re maturing. We’re figuring things out and doing the little things to give ourselves a chance.”
Ames struck out 12 and scattered eight hits. The Vikings got hits from the top of the order, but were shut down through the rest of the lineup. Kenzie Kahkonen had three hits and drove in two runs while Erin Morton and Madison Starbird each had two hits. Hannah Kenney was the only other Viking with a hit.
“It’s easier to battle when people are getting hits off a pitcher but it’s tough when you’re striking out,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “We weren’t making contact all the way around, and then you know it’s a battle. I think that gets in their head a little.”
The sixth-ranked Indians (11-7) got hits from all but one hitter in the lineup. Annie Worthen led Skowhegan with two hits and an RBI. Sydney Reed drove in a pair while Wylie Bedard, Eliza Bedard and Bonnie-Jane Aiken also drove in a run each.
“Skowhegan played a great game,” Goddard said. “They had every part going. They had good pitching and they got hits when they needed them. We made a few more errors than we usually do and that hurt us.”
It was shaping up to be a pitcher’s duel after Ames and Oxford Hills’ starter Cody Akers each struck out a pair in the first inning. In the second, the tide turned in Skowhegan’s favor. The Vikings were nearly out of an inning but a liner by Worthen off Aker’s glove plated the first run. Aiken scored on an error on a steal attempt, and Eliza Bedard singled in a run for the 3-0 lead.
“When you get ahead and can play ahead, it makes it a lot easier,” Johnson said.
The Vikings had the chance to strike back in the bottom of the inning but stranded two runners in scoring position. Kenney doubled and Anna Piirainen reached on a fielder’s choice, but Ames struck out the next two to end the threat.
“She had a good start today,” Johnson said of Ames. “She got ahead in the count a lot. She mixed things up, and that’s what we try to do. She did a heck of a job.”
Oxford Hills got one run back in the third when Kahkonen singled in Starbird, but the Vikings still stranded two. Skowhegan had two errors in that inning but were solid the rest of the game. Oxford Hills had four errors and stranded seven runners.
“I was very nervous when they had the bases load and everything like that and had good hits,” Ames said. “I just told myself to stay focused and get the next one.”
The Indians added to the lead with two runs in the fourth. Julia Steeves and Reed had RBI singles. Then Aiken singled in a run in the fifth for a 6-1 lead.
Oxford Hills got one back in the fifth when Kenney scored Morton on a fielder’s choice, but Skowhegan made it 8-2 in the sixth. Reed drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Wylie Bedard singled in a run. The Vikings got one in the seventh when Morton doubled and scored on a Kahkonen triple.
“Their pitcher was effective,” Goddard said. “So you knew it was going to be tough to come back.”
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