Softball teams want strong finishes to season
Sports Editor
With only a week left of regular season softball games, the postseason picture is becoming a bit more clear. The softball season concludes Wednesday, June 2, with preliminary playoffs starting June 8 and quarterfinals following on June 10.
Exactly which teams will appear in the postseason will not be revealed until the final Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points standings are announced after the final games are played June 2. However, as of Tuesday morning, two of the five local squads — Ashland and Central Aroostook — appear playoff bound.
In Eastern Class B, Presque Isle (5-6, 30.2734) was 11th. Only the top 10 squads qualify for the playoffs in this region, therefore the Wildcats will need to secure a few more wins in their final games. Presque Isle faces Fort Kent (Thursday); has a doubleheader with Bucksport (Monday, May 31); and has a huge matchup with Caribou (June 2) to end the season.
In Eastern Class D, Ashland (7-5, 30.1429) is fifth; Central Aroostook (7-5, 20.8929) is seventh; Fort Fairfield (4-9, 11.0510) is 11th; and Washburn (0-15, no points) is last. Only the top nine teams make the playoffs in this region.
The following is a recap of some of the games played through Monday.
Fort Fairfield 19, Hodgdon 7 — At Fort Fairfield Saturday, Amanda Hotham and Courtney Churchill each had two singles, two doubles and five RBIs to lift the Tigers rolled past Hodgdon. ?Emily Blaisdell drove in two runs with three singles, while Kelsey Turner added three singles with an RBI for Fort Fairfield.
Ashland 18, Washburn 6 — At Ashland Saturday, Ashland’s Whitney Donovan had a sensational day at the plate as she went 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles, and a triple with six RBIs. Brooke LaBelle added three singles for the Hornets and Kayla Cote had a double and two singles, with three RBIs.
For Washburn, Kristi Sperrey and Marlaina Spooner each had a single. Spooner had two RBIs.
Wisdom 14, Ashland 13 — At Ashland Friday, LaBelle tripled and had two singles, with two RBIs but it was not enough for the Hornets. Melissa Ellis added a double, single and two RBIs, while Donovan had a double and single in the loss.
Suzie Collins had a double and single for Wisdom.
Southern Aroostook 37, Washburn 12 — At Washburn Friday, Sperrey went 3 for 4 (2 singles, double, 2 RBIs), while R. Saucier singled and had two RBIs for the Beavers.
Wisdom 25, Washburn 3 — At St. Agatha Thursday, Tia Dee led the Beavers with a pair of singles. Sisters Meghan and Rayah Saucier shared pitching duties for Washburn.
Fort Kent 18, Washburn 5 — At Fort Kent Thursday in Washburn’s second game in the St. John Valley, Sam Carapellucci and Lexi Desjardins combined on a no-hitter to lead the Warriors past Washburn.
Limestone-MSSM 16, Fort Fairfield 9 — At Fort Fairfield Wednesday, the Eagles got off to a hot start, leading 9-0 after the first two and a half innings, but Fort Fairfield got its bats going in the bottom of the third inning, cutting that lead to 9-2. The Eagles held off Fort Fairfield’s seventh inning rally for the win.
Jasmine Cote earned the pitching win for the Eagles, allowing nine runs on 13 hits, and six walks, with one strikeout.
Leading the Tigers at the plate were Amanda Hotham (4 singles, 3 RBIs); Kelsey Turner (double and a single, 3 RBIs); and Sydney Churchill (2 singles, 2RBIs).
Pacing Limestone-MSSM were Audra Kirk (triple, double, single, 2 RBIs); and Chelsea Leighton (3 singles, 2 RBIs).
“We out hit Limestone, but they were aggressive on the base paths and were able to string hits together to score some runs,” FF coach Jamie Selfridge said
Central Aroostook 29, Washburn 7 — At Washburn Wednesday, May 19, Rachael Grew blasted four singles and tallied eight RBIs to power the Panthers past Washburn. Leading Washburn at the plate was Sperrey (double, 2 singles, 2 RBIs).
Ashland 15, Central Aroostook 3 — At Ashland May 18, in the first game of a doubleheader, Anna Paradis hit a triple and two singles while driving in four runs to lead Ashland over Central Aroostook. Melissa Ellis doubled and singled with four RBIs for the Hornets. Brittany Mosher tripled for the Panthers’ lone hit.
Ashland 23, Central Aroostook 9 — In game two, Donovan had two doubles, a single and five RBIs for Ashland. Baker hit a two-run double and two singles and Ellis tripled.
Chelsea Hartin hit a two-run triple in the second to lead the Panthers, while Mosher singled.
Southern Aroostook 16, Fort Fairfield 4 — At Dyer Brook May 18, Emily Blaisdell and Danielle Tracy each had a single for Fort Fairfield in the loss.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
MAKING A RUNNING CATCH in left field is Fort Fairfield’s Amanda Hotham during Wednesday’s softball game against Limestone-MSSM.
