Cony’s 10-4 win against previously unbeaten Brewer on Tuesday night wasn’t enough to push the Rams into first place in the Eastern Maine Class A standings. The Rams finished at No. 2 while Brewer retained the top spot. Both teams finish the regular season at 15-1.

But it was enough to pull them out of a recent slump. The Rams pushed across four runs in the first inning and collected 14 hits.

“We were in a little bit of a slump,” Cony coach Rocky Gaslin said. “It just gave us some confidence.”

The Rams could face Brewer two more times before the season ends. They’ll play in the four-team Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A playoffs in Brewer on Saturday. No. 1 Brewer plays No. 3 Messalonskee at 11 a.m. followed by No. 2 Cony against No. 4 Skowhegan. The winners play for the championship at 3.

Cony senior Sonja Morse picked up the win against Brewer on Tuesday, striking out 10, and Gaslin plans to start her against Skowhegan. Should Cony win, he’ll likely start sophomore Arika Brochu in the championship game. The teams could also meet again in the Eastern Maine finals, which this year is being played in Augusta. Last year, the Rams defeated the Witches in the regional final and went on to win the state title.

“In the playoffs you have to play well and have a little luck on your side, too,” Gaslin said.

Cony will host an alumni game at 7 tonight. Gaslin said about 30 alumni have expressed an interest to play. The recently built bridge which runs from the parking lot to the field will also be dedicated at this time in memory of Bob Redman and his daughter Maureen Rodrigue. Built by John Rugan, the structure is eight feet wide and 65 feet long and lined with solar-powered lights. It cuts off a couple hundred feet of walking for fans getting to the field.

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Oak Hill will get another shot against unbeaten Madison today in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game at St. Dominic High School in Auburn. Game time is 5 p.m.

The Raiders saw their 12-game winning streak broken last week in a 5-3 loss to the Bulldogs. The game had a little controversy since the pitcher’s mound was discovered to be three feet closer to home plate than the regulation 43 feet and moved back three feet in the second inning. Oak Hill coach Allyson Collins thought the change made a difference against Madison pitcher Emily McKenney.

“Emily throws very hard,” Collins said. “We got hits in every inning after that. Just having that extra eighth of a second is huge.”

The varied distances, Collins believes, threw Oak Hill pitcher Kortni Michaud off stride as well. The loss was the first of the season for Michaud after 12 straight victories.. Michaud finished the regular season with an earned run average of 1.88, striking out 85 batters in 82 innings while walking 16.

“When her changeup and drop are working, she’s pretty tough,” Collins said.

Michaud also led the Raiders in hitting with a .432 average followed by Kelsey Collins at .400 and Alyssa Rouleau at .382.

The Raiders and Bulldogs can’t meet in the postseason tournament since Oak Hill competes in Class B and Madison in Class C, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of today’s game.

“I think it’s extremely important,” Collins said. “Just to kind of prove something to ourselves, to be a little bit better than last time, and just to give us a push going into the playoffs.”

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Maranacook is headed to the postseason thanks to two big victories this season. The first came against Gardiner and was the only loss for the top-ranked Tigers. The second occurred Friday against Maine Central Institute in the rain on the artificial turf at Kents Hill. In that one, Maranacook rallied for 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth — the game was called after five due to rain — to post a 20-19 victory.

“The first few innings there was a huge amount of walks because of the rain,” Maranacook coach Don Beckwith said. “Everybody hit in the last inning. It was the best we’ve hit the ball all year.”

Beckwith had already inserted a couple of substitutes into his lineup because it was senior day and they came through at the plate.

“We batted around twice,” he said. “Everything came together. They didn’t quit.”

The win jumped the Black Bears (7-9) to ninth place in the Western Maine Class B standings and they should finish among the top 12 qualifiers.

“There’s some teams in the tournament we’re capable of beating, if the right (Maranacook) team shows up,” Beckwith said. “We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com