Brunswick’s Blake Austin can’t reach a throw that went over her head and out of the playing field, allowing Lewiston’s Kali Voss to score after she belted a triple into the outfield and kept running after a throwing error from the Dragons that cleared the bases during Wednesday’s game in Lewiston. The Blue Devils held on for a 9-8 win. (Russ Dillingham / Sun Journal)
LEWISTON – Brunswick trailed Lewiston by seven runs in the fifth inning, and 10 straight Dragons had been retired by Blue Devils starting pitcher Isabelle Cormier.
It seemed like Lewiston was going to easily walk off with its first Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference high school softball win of the season.
The Blue Devils did win to improve to 1-3, but the Dragons made the hosts sweat it out in a 9-8 decision.
Brunswick (0-3) brought 10 hitters to the plate during a six-run fifth inning, but Lewiston reliever Jordyn Rubin backed up her 3-for-3 effort at the plate by pitching two scoreless frames to close it out.
“We might have gotten too comfortable, and they are a good team,” said Rubin, who singled, doubled, tripled, picked up three RBIs and scored three runs before closing it out on the mound. “We dug deep and got the win. We knew in preseason that we would have tough games, and every year those first three games are always tough. Once we catch that momentum, we will be good.”
For Brunswick, it was a second one-run loss in three games. However, head coach Hugh Dwyer feels his young team is trending upward.
“We’re young, and so we have to keep reminding ourselves that we have to let them grow,” said Dwyer, whose Dragons visit Edward Little on Friday at 4 p.m. “We are disappointed that we lost, no doubt, and we have lost two games by one run. These kids are hard workers. After six games we will know who we are, and today was certainly encouraging.”
Things began well for Brunswick against Cormier. With two outs in the first, Shea Sullivan worked a walk and rounded the bases on a run-scoring double by Mia Klimash. The throw to the plate was late to get Sullivan, and with Klimash heading for third, the relay sailed into left field for a 2-0 Dragon lead.
Lewiston wasted little time in tying the game. Charlotte Cloutier doubled and came home on a triple by Rubin. A high throw by Brunswick scored Rubin for a 2-2 deadlock after an inning.
The Blue Devils took control in the second. Walks to Ahna Dostie, Madison Laflamme and Gemma Landry loaded the bases. With two outs, Rubin doubled to left-center field off of Sullivan for two runs, and Kali Voss followed with a two-run triple. She scored on a Brunswick error for a 7-2 advantage.
The trio of Cloutier, Rubin and Voss came through again in the fourth, as Cloutier (two doubles) and Rubin (intentional walk) scored on another two-run triple by Voss (3-for-4, four RBIs). They combined to go 8-of-11 at the plate for six runs and seven RBIs.
“They are very solid and they feed off of each other,” said Lewiston coach Ryan Cormier. “They just pound the ball.”
“We can be really good if we’re working together, and the energy in the dugout really picks up when we are hitting,” Rubin added.
However, Brunswick was far from done. Riley McAllaster opened the Dragon fifth with a triple to right-center field. The first of three Lewiston errors in the frame scored McAllaster, and back-to-back bunt singles by Mia DeSantis and Morgan Foster kept things going. With one out, Sullivan’s two-run single made for a 9-6 game, and Lexi Guptill’s two-out double drew the Dragons within a run.
“Our energy picked up and we started playing as a team instead of individuals, and all of the sudden we started cheering each other on and got after it,” said Guptill. “I knew that I had to keep us going.”
“Lexi got down two strikes and came through. That was huge, and she made a big play at first base to keep us in the game,” Dwyer said.
“We lost our composure a little bit, but we brought it back in and the girls were encouraging each other,” said Coach Cormier.
Rubin allowed a single to Foster (2-for-4) in the sixth and walked Sullivan to open the seventh. Catcher Gemma Landry threw Sullivan out on a steal attempt, and Rubin retired the final two Brunswick hitters for the save. Isabelle Cormier worked five frames on seven hits, four strikeouts and one walk.
“It’s important for our team after those first three games where they fought hard, to get this first win” said Ryan Cormier, whose Blue Devils visit Camden Hills on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Sullivan pitched four innings for Brunswick, allowing nine runs on 10 hits and six walks. She struck out one. Morgan Plourde tossed two innings in relief, permitting just one hit and no runs.
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