BRUNSWICK — Winning was a new concept to the Brunswick softball team last season. This year, the Dragons have clearly gotten the hang of it.

Catcher Kelsey Sullivan slugged her eighth home run in eight games, and the hard-hitting Dragons got contributions throughout the lineup Wednesday afternoon in a 9-1 victory over Camden Hills. Brunswick, the first-place team in Class A North, improved to 8-0, while Camden Hills fell to 0-7.

Sullivan finished 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBI, while Sophia Morin (2 for 4) and Riley McAllister (1 for 4) also drove in a pair for the Dragons, who led 8-0 after two innings. Kelsey Cassidy scored twice, and Ellie Sullivan struck out four and allowed four hits.

“I feel like last year was our warm-up year, coming back from COVID,” Sullivan said. “This year, I feel like we took what we did last year into this season, and now we’re really getting going.”

Victories in previous years didn’t come easily for Brunswick, which had a pair of winless seasons in 2017 and ’18 and won only four games in 2019. The Dragons surged to a 10-5 regular season and the Class A North semifinals last year, however, and Coach Hugh Dwyer said they’ve only built on that success this season.

“Last year, we knew we could be good. This year, we know we are good,” Dwyer said. “(It’s) a bunch of girls that came up together and have enjoyed playing the game and work their tails off. That’s what they are. They know every part of the game.”

They got started quickly Wednesday, with help from a shaky Windjammers defense. Cassidy reached on an error to start the bottom of the first, Sullivan drew a walk two batters later, and Morin hit a deep fly to center that was dropped for an error, allowing Cassidy to score. Another error – the third of the inning – allowed Ellie Sullivan to reach, then Blake Austin brought in Kelsey Sullivan with a groundout and McAllister drilled a single to center to score Morin and Ellie Sullivan and make it 4-0.

Brunswick didn’t need much help in the second inning. Morgan Foster had an RBI single, Kelsey Sullivan ripped an RBI double into the left-field corner, and Morin (groundout) and Ellie Sullivan (single) also drove in runs as the Dragons used a five-hit inning to take an 8-0 lead.

“Everybody in the team can hit, everybody’s a threat out there,” Morin said. “We’ve been doing that a lot recently, we’ve been getting up early and keeping it that way.”

Kelsey Sullivan made it 9-0 in the fourth when she crushed a drive over the left-field wall. The senior also stood out behind the plate, throwing out three would-be base stealers.

“I just swing early in the count and look for my pitch,” she said. “Just swing hard, and good things happen.”

Camden Hills got its run in the fifth when Olivia Ogier singled, advanced on a bunt, stole third and came home on a wild throw.

“We have a number of things we need to work on. Obviously errors in the field are a big struggle for us,” Camden Hills Coach Rowena Motylewski said. “When you play good teams like this, though, it hopefully shows you where you can be.”

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