AUGUSTA — The Cony softball team played all season like it was the team to beat in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A.
The Rams proved it Friday night by winning the conference championship.
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Cony blew out Erskine 17-8 in the opener then dispatched Messalonskee in the final 12-0.
Nicole Rugan hit a home run in each game and Arika Brochu added a solo shot in the nightcap to power the Rams.
“We hit the ball real well (Friday),” Cony coach Rocky Gaslin said. “Our bats were hot.”
Sonja Morse flirted with a perfect game early to earn the victory. She struck out seven and retired the first 11 batters she faced.
“Sonja was on fire,” Gaslin said.
The Rams broke open a close game with a six-run fifth inning, although four of the runs were unearned.
Cony led 3-0 before Brochu — who earned the victory over Erskine earlier — got the big fifth inning rolling when she belted a fastball from freshman pitcher Alli Leighton over the fence in left-center.
Molly Russell had an RBI single in the inning.
The Rams held just a 1-0 lead before they broke through for a pair in the bottom of the third inning without the benefit of a hit.
Rugan hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run and a two-base throwing error brought in another.
Cony, which will enter the Eastern A playoffs as the top seed, didn’t play Messalonskee during the regular season.
“We want to win every game,” Gaslin said. “This was one of our goals.”
Cony opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a pair of walks. Brochu led off the inning with a walk and took second on a groundout. After a walk to Rugan, Morse blooped an RBI single to center that scored Brochu.
Cony almost made it 2-0 in the second when Olivia Deeves hit an apparent sacrifice fly that plated Russell, who had reached on an error and advanced to third on wild pitches.
However, umpires ruled she had tagged up too early and called her out.
In the early games, Messalonskee rallied from an 8-4 deficit with a six-run sixth inning to post an 11-9 victory over Bangor. Kylee Knight had a home run and finished with three hits and as many RBIs for the Eagles. She and Courtney Veilleux had key RBI singles in the sixth inning.
Cony took care of Erskine in the opener, 17-8.
Rugan homered and winning pitcher Brochu had a double and a single to pace the Rams.
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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