AUBURN — A big first inning led Edward Little to a 7-3 season-opening win against Bangor on Wednesday at Central Maine Community College.
“We hit the ball really hard; we have been hitting the ball really hard in the preseason,” Edward Little coach Elaine Derosby said. “We just talked about how we can maintain that from inning one to inning seven.
“They were ready to go, and they worked really hard to put themselves in the best position to be successful.”
The game was Bangor’s first of the regular season, and coach Sophia Sciarappa said she liked the Rams’ effort from start to finish.
“I think this a very good building-block game for us,” Sciarappa said. “I am really proud of how the girls stayed in the game for the entire game. We had a lot of opportunities today to be better tomorrow.”
Alexis Kelsea’s double started Edward Little’s four-run bottom of the first. She scored when the next batter, Tiana Avila, reached second after Bangor’s third baseman misplayed the ball down the line and it rolled into the outfield.
After an Amanda Raymond walk, Avila stole third and came home on a passed ball during Kassidy Lobb’s at-bat for a 2-0 lead. Raymond moved to second on the passed ball.
Izzy Jalbert’s double to deep center field brought Raymond around for the third run of the inning.
“It’s just a lot of work, trusting myself and knowing what I am capable of,” Jalbert said. “It was nice to have runners on base when that happened, so my teammate was able to score.”
Nellie Feeney entered as a designated runner for Jalbert and later scored the final run of the inning, giving the Red Eddies an early 4-0 advantage.
Jalbert led Edward Little with two hits and two RBIs.
The Red Eddies scored twice more in the second inning. A Kylee Lebrun sacrifice groundout to second scored Emily Horton. Avila reached on a walk and later scored on an error to put Edward Little up 6-0.
Horton and Avila each moved to second on a passed ball before scoring.
“Getting runners on, and some of us like to run a lot and be really aggressive,” Derosby said. “I think that will be a strength to capitalize on, but we need to put the ball in play a little bit more.”
Bangor timed up Edward Little starter Madisyn Scott in the top of the third. JJ Williams reached on an error and then scored on Emma Streams’ hard-hit ball to center for a single. A throwing error on the play scored Williams and moved Streams to third. Cass Ireland singled home Streams for the Rams’ second run.
“It was the girls trusting their abilities to square the ball up; they are all really great hitters,” Sciarappa said. “After seeing the pitcher multiple times, they had a little bit more confidence and were able to square the ball up.”
Scott got out of the inning with Ireland and Taylor Coombs stranded on second and third.
The Rams threatened to score in the top of the fourth, but Ashley Schultz got caught in a run down while trying to steal home.
Sciarappa said that play and Williams getting thrown out at third in the following inning are plays the Rams can learn from.
“Those are little lapses and great learning opportunities for the girls to come on top next time,” Sciarappa said.
Jalbert drove in another run in the bottom of the fourth with a single up the middle that scored Raymond, pushing the Eddies’ lead to 7-2.
Williams reached first for Bangor and stole second to start the top of the fifth, but she was gunned down by Kelsea, Edward Little’s center fielder, after Streams dropped in a single.
“We are a year older, and Alexis has played center field her whole life,” Derosby said. “I can thank her mother for that, and (Alexis) knows every read off the bat and is willing to take chances all the time.”
Derosby said Kelsea’s mother told Alexis center field would be the best position to play if she wanted consistent playing time.
Streams reached second on Kelsea’s throw to third to get Williams, and Casey Carter later singled to bring in Streams, cutting the Rams’ deficit to 7-3.
Bangor only recorded one hit in the final two innings with Lobb in the circle after she relieved Scott at the start of the sixth.
Scott pitched five innings, struck out four, allowed six hits and walked two.
Carter, Bangor’s starter, went five innings, allowing seven runs and five hits, recording one strikeout and walking eight. Raegan Sprague came in the sixth, walked two but got out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed.
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