AUBURN — Edward Little conjured up a 4-2 victory over Lewiston using a simple brew of solid pitching, timely hitting and heads-up base running at Auburn Suburban on Monday.
The rivals continued throwing scares into each other before the Red Eddies (4-7) escaped with the win.
“Our girls needed a day where they could feel really good about themselves,” Edward Little coach Elaine Derosby said. “They have taken some lumps. They are trying to find their identity. … They are just working everyday in practice.
“They battled the other day in an extra-inning game against Camden (an 8-5 Edward Little win) and they battled today, and they really battled all year long. So we are proud of them for continuing to battle and giving our coaching staff the best effort that they give every day.”
Edward Little grabbed a two-run head start in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman outfielder Alexis Kelsea got on with a bunt and eventually moved to third base before scoring on sophomore first baseman Emily Horton’s RBI ground-out to first base. Outfielder Leah Thibodeau also scored a run to give the Red Eddies a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The Red Eddies held the 2-0 lead through four innings before ringing up another two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With one out, Kelsea singled and eventually moved to third base. Thibodeau reached first base after being hit by a pitch. Horton belted a solid RBI single, sending Kelsea home for the Eddies’ third run. Shortstop Amanda Raymond then smacked an RBI single, scoring Thibodeau and giving Edward Little a 4-0 lead.
Throughout second half of the game, the Blue Devils (2-7) came to life and tried to capitalize on three hits in the top of fifth inning, but Edward Little pitcher Maddy Scott escaped a jam thanks to the team’s strong defensive effort.
“I think (Scott) felt the support of her teammates today,” Derosby said. “I think that helped her a little bit because they were making some tremendous plays behind her.”
Scott said she felt strong the entire game and appreciated the defense’s help.
“The other team battled back pretty hard and so did we,” Scott said. “They are pretty good. We kind of worked as a team more than usual, and it felt really good to be here and work as a team this time.”
The Red Eddies weren’t as fortunate in the to top of the sixth, when the Blue Devils quickly closed in on Edward Little with a two-run surprise.
Lewiston third baseman Isabella Miller got on with a double with one out and scored on Brooklyn Mynahan’s hard-hit RBI single. Mynahan, the Blue Devils’ starting pitcher, got to third base and scored on a wild pitch before Edward Little’s defense cracked down on Lewiston’s offensive push.
“Like I said about this team, we always fight from first pitch to last pitch,” Lewiston coach Ryan Cormier said. “If it wasn’t for those couple of errors in the beginning, who knows? We’d still be playing right now.
“You’ve got to give credit to our team. They let that go, settled down and weathered the storm and continued on.”
The Devils threw a bit of scare into the Eddies in the top of the seventh with two outs, when Lewiston shortstop Charlotte Cloutier hammered a out a triple. But Edward Little got the third out to preserve their victory.
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