NORTH ANSON — After Friday’s Winthrop-Carrabec softball game, the PA announcer remarked that Friday afternoon has “unofficially been called the coldest day in human history.”

That’s an exaggeration — it wasn’t even especially cold for Maine — but it certainly wasn’t a pleasant spring day, either.

Winthrop, helped by an early lead, handled the cold a little bit better, and Amy Belanger pitched a game that would qualify as good under any conditions. Belanger tossed a three-hitter with eight strikeouts as Winthrop won, 15-0, in a game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.

“You just concentrate on the catcher’s glove, and I keep a hand warmer in my back pocket that I hold onto between pitches,” Belanger said.

Carrabec was wearing pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, but it was so chilly, and the wind so brisk, that most of the players wore jackets or sweatshirts in the field. Some fielders even kept their throwing hands inside their sleeves. Winthrop’s dugout, meanwhile, looked like a slumber party, as most of the players were covered in blankets.

With that kind of atmosphere, the team that took the early lead definitely had an advantage. Winthrop (1-1) scored three runs in the first inning on two singles and two walks, and pushed that lead to 7-0 after two innings and 11-0 after three.

“This (weather) is awful,” Carrabec coach Craig Knight. “It must be in the low 30s now, and it’s tough to play softball in that. When you get behind, it’s hard to forget the cold. If you’re winning, and you’ve got momentum, you can stand the cold a little bit more.”

The Ramblers also took every opportunity to get moving on the bases. Winthrop stole 17 bases Friday, and advanced 11 times on wild pitches or passed balls. Twice in the third inning, Carrabec catcher Angie Brown got to the ball quickly and threw out a Winthrop runner trying for home, but more often than not, the gambles worked for the Ramblers.

Winthrop had seven hits and drew 10 walks. Cat Ouellette walked twice, stole five bases, and hit a three-run double in the third inning. Alison Sekerak and Caitlin Allen each reached base three times, and Meg Scully had two hits, including a two-run single in the first.

Belanger’s only 1-2-3 inning came in the second, when she struck out the side. But Carrabec hit the ball to the outfield only twice, and the Cobras’ only hits were infield singles by Chantal Diamond and Kilee Nile and a single to right-center field by Brown.

“Amy, what can I say?” Winthrop coach Sean Scully said. “I asked Craig for the game ball, and I gave it to her. She’s a great leader. I think she’s going to lead this team, hopefully, to the playoffs.”

Carrabec (0-2) did have the defensive play of the day when second baseman Skyla Murray snagged a liner by Abby Helm. Mostly, though, the Cobras are just looking to improve each time out. Winthrop has been in that position, too, and now has a realistic shot at being a strong team in Western C.

“This is our second year with pretty much all the same starters,” Belanger said. “We work pretty well, on and off the field. We’re all pretty good friends. A lot of it is just work ethic, and everyone is really positive and motivated.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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