CAPE ELIZABETH — All season Greely High’s softball team has got the most out of its offense in the late innings. Friday afternoon the Rangers took a different rout.
Greely scored all its runs in the first two innings, sending 25 batters to the plate, to defeat Cape Elizabeth 15-6 in a Class B South game. The Rangers scored eight runs in the first and seven in the second to move to a 15-1 lead, aided by seven walks, a hit batter and an error.
Cape Elizabeth, fighting for the final playoff berth in South B, made four pitching changes in the first two innings.
“I never made so many pitching changes in my life,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Joe Henrikson.
Freshman Anna Cornell, who started the game, settled down over the final five innings, holding the Rangers to one hit as the Capers tried to fight back. But the early deficit was too much to overcome.
The victory was Greely’s third in a row, lifting the Rangers to 8-7. Cape Elizabeth dropped to 7-8 and into 13th place in South B. The top 11 teams make the playoffs.
Greely’s offense started with leadoff batter Sawyer Dusch, who walked after a 12-pitch at-bat. That set the tone for the rest of the inning.
“We were very patient at the plate,” said Greely Coach Rob Hale. “We made her throw strikes, which was good.”
“We’ve been working on that a little and not always taking the first (pitch) we see,” said winning pitcher Kelsey Currier, who also drove in four runs. “And that worked today.”
The Rangers sent 14 batters to the plate in the first. Lindsay Eisenhart drove in two with a single. Dusch and Currier had RBI singles. Three runs scored on bases-loaded walks, another on an error.
In the second, Greely scored sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs with two outs. Currier had a three-run home run and Taylor LaFlamme hit an RBI double and Dusch, Anna Smith and Eisenhart had RBI singles.
“I think that’s important for us to get that early lead so we can keep the momentum going forward,” said Eisenhart. “And we can just carry that momentum and energy the whole game.”
Cape Elizabeth scored four in the bottom of the second – two on a two-out dropped fly ball in the outfield – but Currier effectively kept the Capers off-balance the rest of the game.
Kate Bozek had three hits for the Capers, Julia Torre had two.
Greely appears to have righted itself after a five-game losing streak. Hale said he feels good about his team heading into the postseason. “This class, I don’t think there’s a clear favorite,” he said. “Everyone has 9-10 wins. Everyone has beat each other.”
“In the beginning of the year it was just about finding people in the right spots,” said Currier. “Now we’re just jelling so much and have so much confidence in each other.”
For Cape Elizabeth, a playoff berth will likely come down to Tuesday’s game at top-ranked Gray-New Gloucester. But the way the team finished Friday’s game has Henrikson optimistic.
“They scrapped, didn’t quit, which I like to see,” he said. “I like my team.”
Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
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