South Portland 3
Windham 2
The South Portland softball team committed 10 errors, but still managed to hold on for their sixth straight win, a 3-2 decision over Windham on Monday afternoon.
South Portland pitcher Julie DiMatteo allowed just three hits and struck out eight batters to improve her record to 4-2. On the other side, Windham pitcher Ally Noble allowed six hits and struck out six. She is 5-3 this season.
The Red Riots got two of their three runs in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and no one on, Jamie Harmon doubled for the first South Portland hit. DiMatteo then tripled to drive Harmon home. Kelsey Flaherty singled in DiMatteo and the Riots had a 2-0 cushion.
That slim lead got even smaller in the top of the second. With a runner at second, the Eagles’ Ashley Blanchard pulled an inside pitch down the third base line wher it was misplayed. The error allowed Amanda Evans to score from second and the South Portland lead stood at 2-1.
“We gave them a lot of extra outs,” said South Portland coach Jim Hartman. “You have to give them credit. Outside of Scarborough, that’s the best team we’ve played. They are well coached and they make the most of their talent. But we can’t play like we did and continue to go very far.”
The Riots got a run back in the bottom of the second. Kayla Farrara singled and Melissa Thomes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Farrara to second. Christina Aceto then singled home Farrara to make it a 3-1 game.
Meanwhile the Eagles were hitting DiMatteo pretty hard. But when DiMatteo found herself in trouble, she was seemingly always able to make a big pitch and avoid scoreboard damage.
And Noble had an equally strong performance on the mound for Windham. Aside from the three runs in the first and second innings, she held South Portland scoreless the rest of the game.
The Eagles scratched another run across in the fourth. Noble reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brenna Clauson. Melissa Bedient then reached on another error and Andrea Parent eventually drove Noble home.
Both teams put runners on base over the final three innings but could not score. DiMatteo retired Windham in order in the top of the seventh to end the game. With the win the Red Riots improve to 6-2 after an 0-2 start.
Windham drops to 5-3 with the loss. They were scheduled to host Portland (2-5) on Wednesday afternoon. South Portland was scheduled to travel to Westbrook on Wednesday to take on the Blue Blazes (3-4).
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