Sports
Brunswick softball ousted by Eddies
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| Brunswick High School softball first baseman Haley Clark concentrates on this flyball during an Eastern Maine Class A preliminary contest at Tribou Field in Lake Auburn on Wednesday. The No. 11 Dragons pounded out 11 hits, but dropped a tough 4-3 decision to sixth-seeded Edward Little. (Bob Conn / The Times Record) |
By Bob Conn, Times Record Staff
LAKE AUBURN — The opportunities were there for the Brunswick High School softball team in its Eastern Maine Class A preliminary contest against sixth-seeded Edward Little at Tribou Field.
The Dragons pounded out 11 hits, at least one in each inning, and had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out in the seventh, but EL veteran hurler Alyssa Levesque escaped time and time again as the Eddies held on for a 4-3 victory.
“We out hit them (11-8) and had what we wanted in the seventh inning, but their pitcher was able to make some key pitches,” said Brunswick coach Pat Roche, whose 11th-seeded team finished 7-10. “I’m very proud of the way that we played today. Hey, we improved a lot this season after a rough year last season (3-13), and we know that it could have been even better if we could have won a couple close games, including this one.”
Levesque pitched in and out of trouble all afternoon for the Eddies, who are scheduled to travel to No. 3 Bangor for an Eastern A quarterfinal today.
The first hitter she faced in the game, Jess Russell, drove an offering to deep center field for an inside-the-park home run and a quick 1-0 Brunswick lead.
In all but one inning after the first, the Dragons had two runners on base with less than two outs. But, Levesque struck out five, each coming in key situations.
“Alyssa is a senior who has been our starter since her freshman year, and she has pitched in some big games,” said EL coach Elaine Keene. “We’ve played in a lot of games where we fell behind, including being down 6-1 at Brunswick heading to the seventh before coming back to win. We knew we needed to answer against Russell early, and we did.”
In the home half of the first, back-to-back triples by Megan Hussar and Emily Grund plated two runs as the Eddies took a 2-1 lead after one.
EL increased its lead in the fourth. Becca Witten ripped a one-out double, and Emily Johnson’s two-out single gave the Eddies a 3-1 lead. Levesque helped herself on the next pitch with a single to center field to give her team a three-run lead.
Brunswick responded in the fifth as Russell and Estela Jacobs singled to begin the frame. A groundball moved both runners up a base, and a sacrifice fly by Emily Hartzell cut the deficit to 4-2.
In the Dragons’ sixth, Kayla Wing was hit by a pitch and Kendra Moreau singled, but Levesque pitched out of trouble again, retiring Russell on a hard-hit groundball to second.
Jacobs singled for the second time to begin the seventh, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a single by Haley Clark, who advanced to second on the throw to the infield. With one out, Mardi Artis turned on a Levesque offering for an RBI single to put runners at the corners, but Levesque fanned one and ended the game on a routine groundball to send the Eddies to the Eastern A quarterfinals.
“We had a lot of confidence today, and we hit the ball well, but they are a good team and came through when they needed to,” said Russell, who along with Jacobs, Hartzell, Clark, Artis and Wing played her final game for Brunswick. “I’m so proud of how we battled all season. We hit a rough spot toward the end of the year, but we came to play today and I think the future of this team is bright.”
Russell allowed eight hits and struck out seven in her complete-game effort. She also led the Brunswick offense with two hits. Jacobs, Clark and Campbell also had two hits, while Levesque was the only repeat hitter for EL with a pair of singles.
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The Dragons pounded out 11 hits, at least one in each inning, and had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out in the seventh, but EL veteran hurler Alyssa Levesque escaped time and time again as the Eddies held on for a 4-3 victory.
“We out hit them (11-8) and had what we wanted in the seventh inning, but their pitcher was able to make some key pitches,” said Brunswick coach Pat Roche, whose 11th-seeded team finished 7-10. “I’m very proud of the way that we played today. Hey, we improved a lot this season after a rough year last season (3-13), and we know that it could have been even better if we could have won a couple close games, including this one.”
Levesque pitched in and out of trouble all afternoon for the Eddies, who are scheduled to travel to No. 3 Bangor for an Eastern A quarterfinal today.
| No. 6 Edward Little 4, No. 11 Brunswick 3 Eastern Maine Class A softball prelim Brunswick — 100 010 1 — 3-11-1 Edward Little — 200 200 x — 4- 8-3 Russell and Artis; Levesque and Witten. Repeat hitters — (B) Campbell, Russell, Jacobs, Clark; (EL) Levesque. Doubles — (EL) Witten. Triples — (EL) Hussar, Grund. Home run — (B) Russell. Records — Edward Little 12-5; Brunswick 7-10. Next — EL faces No. 3 Bangor today in the Eastern A quarterfinals; Brunswick’s season is over. |
The first hitter she faced in the game, Jess Russell, drove an offering to deep center field for an inside-the-park home run and a quick 1-0 Brunswick lead.
In all but one inning after the first, the Dragons had two runners on base with less than two outs. But, Levesque struck out five, each coming in key situations.
“Alyssa is a senior who has been our starter since her freshman year, and she has pitched in some big games,” said EL coach Elaine Keene. “We’ve played in a lot of games where we fell behind, including being down 6-1 at Brunswick heading to the seventh before coming back to win. We knew we needed to answer against Russell early, and we did.”
In the home half of the first, back-to-back triples by Megan Hussar and Emily Grund plated two runs as the Eddies took a 2-1 lead after one.
EL increased its lead in the fourth. Becca Witten ripped a one-out double, and Emily Johnson’s two-out single gave the Eddies a 3-1 lead. Levesque helped herself on the next pitch with a single to center field to give her team a three-run lead.
Brunswick responded in the fifth as Russell and Estela Jacobs singled to begin the frame. A groundball moved both runners up a base, and a sacrifice fly by Emily Hartzell cut the deficit to 4-2.
In the Dragons’ sixth, Kayla Wing was hit by a pitch and Kendra Moreau singled, but Levesque pitched out of trouble again, retiring Russell on a hard-hit groundball to second.
Jacobs singled for the second time to begin the seventh, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a single by Haley Clark, who advanced to second on the throw to the infield. With one out, Mardi Artis turned on a Levesque offering for an RBI single to put runners at the corners, but Levesque fanned one and ended the game on a routine groundball to send the Eddies to the Eastern A quarterfinals.
“We had a lot of confidence today, and we hit the ball well, but they are a good team and came through when they needed to,” said Russell, who along with Jacobs, Hartzell, Clark, Artis and Wing played her final game for Brunswick. “I’m so proud of how we battled all season. We hit a rough spot toward the end of the year, but we came to play today and I think the future of this team is bright.”
Russell allowed eight hits and struck out seven in her complete-game effort. She also led the Brunswick offense with two hits. Jacobs, Clark and Campbell also had two hits, while Levesque was the only repeat hitter for EL with a pair of singles.
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