Softball: Bonny Eagle falls to Scarborough, exits postseason

SCARBOROUGH—The Scots gave up a big first inning at mighty Scarborough on Thursday, June 6, and it cost them in the end: The Red Storm came out swinging big bats and racked up a 6-0 advantage they rode to a 9-2 victory.

“There’s a reason Scarborough is 16-0,” Bonny Eagle head coach Jan Corliss said. “They’ve got good bats, they’ve got the pitching, the defense. I’m just glad to see that my kids showed up to play, and played hard. They never quit; they have never quit all season long.”

The Scots succumbed one-two-three to Storm pitcher Bella Dickinson (and the girls behind her) in the top of the first, but couldn’t erect a similar defensive wall when the Storm took their turn at the plate.

Emma Burnham – Burnham started on the mound for BE – lured Dickinson, batting first for Scarborough, into a fly-out to kick things off. But in short order, Ariella Swett, Caitlin Noiles, Courtney Brochu and Sylvia Foley all logged Scarborough hits; all soon circled the bases as well.

The bottom of the first concluded on another fly-out, this one by Noiles (Scarborough were already into their second trip through the order) to Emma Steinbuchel in centerfield. By then, the Storm stood on top 6-0.

“Emma settled down, she wasn’t throwing bad stuff,” Corliss said. “But Scarborough’s bats came out firing,” Corliss said. “They’re great hitters.”

“They were hitting the gaps,” Corliss said. “We were pitching right around the strike zone. We didn’t want to get it over the plate, because we know they’re great hitters. Emma was hitting her spots; they were just going after them. A couple of them we had low and outside, Scarborough golfed ‘em. What are you going to do?”

BE’s first run of the day came in the top of the six. Sam Averill did the honors, walking onto base – Dickinson was beginning to lose steam – then moving to second on a Burnham sac grounder, a shot back along the ground to Dickinson. Averill eventually crossed the plate on a passed ball during Steinbuchel’s at-bat.

“I think Bella got tired near the end,” Corliss said, “and my kids have learned over the season to be patient when that starts happening. It’s not like they overpowered her and got a lot of hits; they didn’t. They took walks.”

By this time, the Scots had stepped up their defense admirably. Yes, the Storm had accrued two more runs – the tally read 8-1 – but giving up two to Scarborough isn’t giving up many. Averill deserves props for her work at shortstop, as she turned in more than one clutch play. Running backwards in the bottom of the sixth, for instance, she nabbed a tricky infield fly to secure a Storm out. Mackenzie Emery at third base and Makala Greene at first base also put up noteworthy efforts in the field.

Bonny Eagle hashed their second run in the top of the seventh. Spring Parsons walked on four straight Dickinson balls, then stole second; she zipped to third on a Cassidy Grass sac to first, then home when Emery smashed a single past third into left.

Enough’s enough, Scarborough said. So when Averill followed Emery into the box and lined hard toward short, the Stormer there – name of Alyssa Desveaux – snagged the ball/bullet from midair and flipped it to third base for a fielder’s choice double-play to end the game.

“That shot that we hit up the middle, I thought that was going to be a base hit,” Corliss said of Averill’s contact. “I had that going out there for a single. [Desveaux] made a great play on that ball.”

The quarterfinals loss ends BE’s season at 10-8. The Scots went 9-7 through the regular season to earn the playoffs eight-seed. They then mounted an epic, 12-9 comeback win vs. No. 9 Cheverus/North Yarmouth Academy in the prelims to end up on Scarborough’s doorstep.

Adam Birt can be reached at abirt@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CurrentSportsME.