SKOWHEGAN — When Skowhegan softball coach Lee Johnson spoke to his players in the outfield after Thursday’s game, one of the last things he said was, “Whatever you did, whatever you ate before the game, do the same darn thing, please.”

To be sure, if the Indians continue to play the way they did Thursday against Brewer, they’ll be a very good team. Skowhegan didn’t make an error, and used timely hits and a strong outing from pitcher Kaitlyn Therriault to post a 6-1 victory.

“We’re hoping we found a way to play like that all the time,” Johnson said. “It felt good. Pitching and defense are how you’re going to win ballgames.”

The Indians (3-3) got some good fortune, but they also made Brewer pay for every mistake. Five of Skowhegan’s runs were unearned, and every one came via a two-out hit. On the other hand, Skowhegan’s defense kept the Witches from scoring an extra two or three runs in the first inning.

Brewer (2-4) had three of its four hits in the first inning, and went up 1-0 when Sarah Babin singled home Lindsay Houp. With runners on second and third and one out, Alexa Grindle then hit a hard grounder down the third-base line. Skowhegan third baseman Shelby Obert backhanded the ball to hold the runners and limit Grindle to a single.

Obert later made another sparkling play, when she ran about 30 feet to field a slow roller, then threw on the run to get Cassie Harvey at first base.

“I like it when they hit it to me,” Obert said, “but I like it when they challenge me more than the easy plays.”

This time, Obert’s play meant the bases were still loaded with one out. Therriault induced a grounder to get a forceout at the plate, and then left fielder Renee Libby made a basket catch of a short fly ball after a long run.

“That was what I think was key: We limited them to that one run,” Johnson said. “Other games in the past, we allowed them to get two or three there, and it makes it a much more daunting task.”

Therriault allowed only one more hit, a single by Grindle with one out in the sixth inning. The Witches often hit the ball on the nose, but those line drives always seemed to find a Skowhegan glove. Therriault herself made two nice quick-reaction plays on low line drives right back at her.

Therraiult started Skowhegan’s three-run rally in the second inning with an innocent popup that was dropped when two Brewer fielders called for the ball and then collided. Pitcher Kelly Hatt struck out the next two batters but Lyndsi Merrill singled, No. 9 batter Mikayla Toth belted a two-run triple and Obert’s single brought home Toth to make it 3-0.

“Clean up a few mistakes, and by the third inning, we would have been up 1-0 instead of down 3-1,” Brewer coach Skip Estes said. “And then who knows what we could have done from there?”

In the fourth, Brewer made two errors before getting an out, and with two down and the bases loaded, Amanda Johnson plunked a two-run single into right-center field. In the sixth, Obert doubled to deep center and took third on a throwing error, then scored on Taylor Johnson’s two-out single.

“We all came out focused,” Obert said. “We were ready to play today, and it just worked for us.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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