LEWISTON — Edward Little received contributions throughout its lineup in a 19-0 softball win over Lewiston at Joseph Deschenes Field.
Eleven Red Eddies (6-5) recorded at least one hit. Amanda Raymond and Tiana Avila each had three and Alexis Kelsea and Kylee Lebrun tallied two apiece.
The entire Edward Little roster played, and coach Elaine Derosby said each player had a hand in the victory.
“We got contributions from 13 people in our lineup today,” Derosby said. “Some of our starters who play a lot sacrificed an at-bat or an inning (in the field) for some of their teammates. I am proud of them for giving the effort, because we did get (contributions) from all 13 today.”
Edward Little’s bats were alive from the start. Raymond led off the top of the first with a double, and the next batter, Avila, drove her in with a double.
“It was pretty cool to get the leadoff runner in, and it was pretty impressive that we both got doubles,” Avila said.
Madisyn Scott and Kylee Lebrun each hit a two-run single as the Red Eddies scored eight in the first.
In the top of the second, Edward Little junior Leah Thibodeau blasted a shot to right field then sprinted around the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run.
Thibodeau wanted to the second inning to be a continuation of the Red Eddies’ big first inning.
“I think that it kept the momentum going,” Thibodeau said. “I think getting up that early, we couldn’t get down because we can lose the energy — we just had to stay up.”
Lewiston’s Elissa Nadeau opened the bottom of the second with a single to right field. She advanced to third before the Red Eddies got out of the inning.
“Elissa Nadeau is swinging the bat really well right now, and Maija Raymond came in and got a single as well,” Lewiston coach Ryan Cormier said. “Tomorrow is a new day for us, and we will get back to work and do what we are supposed to do.”
Blue Devils (1-9) starting pitcher Ava Dionne settled down in the top of the third, only allowing a single to Izzy Jalbert and facing just four hitters in the inning.
Dionne also got defensive help from third baseman Juliet Philppon, who caught a few would-be line-drive hits at the hot corner throughout the game.
“Juliet does really well at that position,” Cormier said. “She fields that spot really well, and she moves her feet like she’s supposed to do.”
For Edward Little, Scott allowed only two hits after the second inning. She allowed three in the game, along with one walk and two strikeouts.
Avila tallied another extra-base hit with a three-run inside-the-park homer in the top of the fourth, extending Edward Little’s lead to 13-0.
Avila said the Eddies spend a lot of practice time on improving their hitting, sometimes in unconventional ways.
“We do a lot of work on hitting,” Avila said. “Some of our drills, we might think are a little crazy but in the long run, they really help us out. We are a really good-hitting team. When we all come together, good things happen.”
Avila said that one of the drills involves hitting a softball that is sitting on a table. Its intent is to help them to hit high pitches and keep their swings level.
Pinch-hitter Erin Cowie added a RBI single, and Raymond hit a two-run single as the Red Eddies extended their lead to 18-0 in the fourth.
Kelsea added another Edward Little inside-the-park homer with a line drive in the top of the fifth to cap the scoring.
Derosby said the Red Eddies focused on hitting line drives heading into the game because Joseph Deschenes Field has a large outfield.
“Their outfielder and our outfielders play a little bit deeper here, so we can keep everything in front (of us),” Derosby said. “We said we really need to keep the ball in the air, we need to go with line drives, and they really did that today. “
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