SKOWHEGAN — Skowhegan pitcher Sydney Ames was, in her own words, a ball magnet for much of Saturday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A softball matinée with Brewer.

But for a screaming line drive over her head that tipped off her glove in the fourth inning, Ames easily handled all six chances her way through the first six innings, compiling five assists and a putout.

Protecting a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning, however, the freshman rushed her throw to first on Courtney Melvin’s leadoff comebacker and overthrew the first baseman. Clearly rattled, she surrendered a booming double to the next batter, Becca Gideon, that drove in Melvin and cut the lead in half. Sydney Hewes bunted Gideon over to third, putting the tying run 60 feet away with one out.

Ames took a deep breath and regained her poise to strike out Brewer leadoff hitter Jordan Goodrich. She then got Emily Lord to ground out to second to end it and give the Indians a crucial 2-1 win.

“I just tell myself to let it go, tell myself to focus more and just stay in my happy place,” Ames said. “Today I just happened to be a ball magnet. I definitely rushed that last one.”

Ames struck out seven and walked one. She allowed five hits, and the Witches put at least one runner on in each inning except the sixth, but Ames was able to fall back on her changeup any time she had to wiggle out of a jam.

“My changeup works really well for me and it has been since I’ve been pitching, so I always go back to it. I’m pretty confident with it,” Ames said.

“She’s able to mix things up pretty well,” Skowhegan coach Lee Johnson said of Ames. “She certainly throws hard enough, and with the changeup, she commands it pretty well.”

Brewer left seven runners on base.

“We had our opportunities,” Brewer coach Skip Estes said. “We just had one inning where we made a couple of mistakes and it cost us two runs.”

The fourth inning doomed the Witches. The Indians loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a bobbled bunt by pitcher Ally Chapman. Lindsey Warren hit a sharp grounder that went through Hewes’ legs at second base and into the outfield, allowing Ames and Julia Steeves to score.

It was Ames’ second win over Brewer in four days. She and the Indians beat the Witches 4-2 on Wednesday in Brewer. The Witches (4-7) and the Indians (6-5) ended Saturday holding down the final two spots, respectively, in the Class A North playoff race with five games remaining.

“I think the biggest thing is our pitching staff has come to where we knew it would be,” Johnson. “The younger kids are really starting to feel a little more comfortable and get more confidence. (Ames) threw really well today and Ashley (Alward) threw really well (Friday in a 14-2 win over Lawrence). We’re finally getting to where we think we should be.”

Eliza Bedard had two of the Indians’ four hits, both singles.

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