LEWISTON — Mention Olivia Rioux’s 3-for-5 performance at the plate and a look of astonishment appears on her face.
The Poland freshman catcher also drove in two runs to help the Knights elude Lewiston for a 6-4 victory in a softball game on a cold and blustery Wednesday afternoon.
“I have been getting more confident at the plate,” Rioux said. “Once you time off the pitching, you get used to it. I think we did great. We worked well as a team and did really well.”
Rioux’s freshman season is off to an impressive start. She doubled twice and drove in five runs in the Knights’ season-opening 16-1 win over Gray-New Gloucester last Thursday.
Wednesday’s win featured a similar performance by Rioux.
“She got on base every single time and did what we needed to,” Poland coach Katrina Seeley said.
Poland (2-0) didn’t waste any time announcing itself in the top of the first inning. Rioux got on due to a fielder’s choice, and Kayleigh Hood came in to pinch run and scored on Emma Bunyea’s RBI double to put the Knights on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.
Seeley said the Knights’ hitting and high energy were keys to their victory.
“Keeping our energy up is a big deal and working the count at the plate,” Seeley said.
Winning pitcher Atlantis Martin went the distance, giving up eight hits.
“She’s a senior,” Seeley said. “She has plenty of experience on the mound.”
Poland’s opening salvo was just a prelude for what was to come in the second inning.
Lewiston (0-1) pitcher Brooklyn Mynahan, who went the entire seven innings, gave up three walks to load the bases in the top of the second. Rioux slapped a two-run single and Bunyea followed with an RBI hit, bringing home Maggie McGlauflin, Gabbi Bolduc and Gretchlyn Paradis.
The Knights held a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the third inning, but the Blue Devils finally got to Martin, scoring three runs with two outs.
Mynahan walked and Ahna Dostie singled and both came home on Charlotte Cloutier’s two-run single. Morgan Brown’s single brought home Cloutier for Lewiston’s third run to make it a 4-3 game.
“Like I told my girls, I asked them to fight from the first pitch to the last pitch — and that is exactly what they did,” Lewiston coach Rick Cormier said. “There was a couple of plays that didn’t go our way and both teams were battling with the winds. I am proud of my team of what they did today. I like where we are as a team.”
The Knights added to their lead in the sixth, recording four hits, including RBI singles by shortstop Khloe O’Leary and Atlantis Martin, to make it a 6-3 game.
The Blue Devils got something started in the bottom of the seventh. Dostie walked, advanced third base on a hit from Cloutier (3-for-4) and came home when Brown was thrown out at first base. But that’s as close as Lewiston could get.
“(The Blue Devils) are good,” Seeley said. “You’ve got to watch out when they get on base, they are going to look for the extra bases, and they are going to be successful this season.
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