LEWISTON — As an off-and-on drizzle fell on Joseph Deschenes Field on Tuesday, Lewiston and Mt. Ararat pitchers had the challenge of keeping their hands and the ball dry.
The Blue Devils handled the tough conditions better than the Eagles, leading to a 17-5 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference softball win.
Lewiston has now won five straight, improving to 5-3 with Oxford Hills visiting on Wednesday in what is sure to be a measuring stick to see where Ryan Cormier’s team has progressed since an 0-3 start.
On the other side, Al Graffam’s Eagles fell to 0-8, still looking to find consistency. Mt. Ararat hosts Edward Little on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
The Blue Devils started strong, with starting pitcher Gemma Landry setting Mt. Ararat down in order on a strikeout and two fly balls.
Eagles starter Megan Reed wasn’t as fortunate. After retiring the first batter, Reed walked five straight Blue Devils, and three wild pitches moved the Lewiston runners along. Camille Rowe relieved and promptly gave up a run-scoring single to Madison Mercier for a 3-0 lead. An Abby Chartier grounder and an Ahna Dostie infield single gave the hosts a 5-0 edge after an inning.
“They piggy-backed off of each other, coming out the gate and putting some hits together after the walks,” said Cormier, who feels his team, along with the coaches, have come together. “The girls are now understanding their roles and supporting each other no matter what, along with a new coach coming in and learning those roles. We knew we could bounce back and just didn’t want to overthink it.”
The start was tough for Mt. Ararat.
“My predecessor Rick Bartlett used to say, ‘Walks and errors don’t need a GPS to find their way home,’” Graffam said. “The wet ball, it was hard to grip, and giving up all those walks hurt.”
Mt. Ararat received some life when Breanne Hunter launched an inside-the-park home run to deep center field to get the Eagles on the board.
“I was thinking, ‘Just run!’” Hunter said. “It brought our confidence up and we were able to get our bats going after. I wanted to keep that positive energy going.”
But Lewiston continued to score. Jordyn Rubin walked in the second inning and advanced all the way to the plate on three wild pitches for a 6-1 Blue Devil lead. A three-run third followed, with Mercier, Dostie and Charlotte Cloutier touching the plate, upping Lewiston’s lead to 9-1.
Landry was solid in her four innings of work, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
She spearheaded a big fourth frame with her bat. Her three-run home run to left field was one of three dingers in the inning, with Kallie May and Rubin adding a solo shot each. Mercier, a senior who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base, said her team’s start led to a solid offensive showing.
“It helped us to get a good base at the beginning,” Mercier said.
Trailing 14-1, Mt. Ararat refused to go away quietly. Jaden Lohr singled to score Ema Hawkes, who was 2-for-4, and Hunter completed her three RBI-afternoon with a two-run single to bring the Eagles to within 14-4.
“This is a unique group. We haven’t had a whole lot of success, but we are making progress,” Graffam said. “They kept grinding today, and we’re going to keep getting better. We have to build on that now.”
Mt. Ararat tacked on a run in the sixth as Breanne McCourt scored on a passed ball.
Lewiston put the game away in the home half of the sixth to bring on the mercy rule. Rubin added her second RBI with a sacrifice fly, and consecutive singles by Skylar Gelinas (3-for-3, two runs, RBI, two walks), Kacey Hopper, May and Mercier finally put the Eagles away.
“Winning today, we will go into tomorrow with a positive mindset and be ready to play Oxford Hills,” Mercier said.
“We are just playing the game that day,” Cormier added. “We didn’t bring up Oxford Hills until after the game”
May, Landry and Rubin had two hits apiece as the Blue Devils pounded out 15 base-knocks. Mercier and Rubin each pitched an inning, combining on two strikeouts and three walks.
Rowe pitched the final 5 1/3 frames for Mt. Ararat. She allowed 12 runs on 15 hits and six walks with one strikeout.
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