Softball: Skowhegan edges Messalonskee in extra innings

SKOWHEGAN — It wasn’t the ideal way for the Skowhegan softball team to pick up a victory. But a win is a win.

Julia Fitzgerald managed to score from second base on an attempted pickoff throw that ended up in the outfield, giving the River Hawks an 8-7 win over Class A North rival Messalonskee in 10 innings on Thursday afternoon.

“We knew, coming back, it was going to be tough,” said Skowhegan first baseman Callaway LePage, who had a single and two runs batted in. “We dug down deep, it took everything in us, but we got the win. It wasn’t how we expected to get it. But it’s a win, and a win’s a win.”

Annabelle Morris and Natalie Gilman each had three of the River Hawks’ (2-0) 13 hits, while Lydia Jones had two hits. Lillian Noyes went the distance to earn the win in the circle, striking out seven batters.

“It’s nice to know, with just two seniors on the team, that the young ones are stepping up and everyone is contributing, whether it be in the field or hitting,” LePage said.

“We’re still figuring ourselves out, a lot of turnover (on the roster)” Skowhegan head coach Lee Johnson said. “I think we just have to play a lot cleaner. Messalonskee did a good job, too, hit the ball quite a bit. We just have to be a lot sharper, that’s all.”

Audrey Mihm smacked two doubles and had two RBIs for the Eagles (0-2) — the defending Class A North champion — while Izzy Culver and Maddi Wilson each added two hits. Morgan Wills pitched more than eight innings of relief for Messalonskee, striking out 10 batters.

Messalonskee landed the first punch of the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Wilson smacked a two-run single to right field. The River Hawks would score five runs in the first and second to take a 5-2 lead, highlighted by RBI singles from Morris and Gilman.

Messalonskee gained a run back in the fourth inning, but Skowhegan added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, including an RBI single from Noyes, to take a 7-3 lead.

The Eagles wouldn’t go down quietly, clawing their way back with two runs in the fifth inning, which included an RBI single from Wills and RBI walk from Olivia Thomas, before tying the game 7-7 in the sixth inning thanks to a two-run double from Mihm.

Messalonskee finished with 10 hits offensively.

“There’s a lot of good to take away from today, especially after a lot of injuries yesterday (a 4-2 loss to Brewer),” Messalonskee head coach Samantha Tunningley said. “Our catcher got hurt, so Audrey Mihm stepping up (was big), having big hits, working really hard behind the plate. I think it shows a lot of promise for the rest of the season.”

Neither team could gain ground over the next three innings. As a rule, when a game goes 10 innings or longer, an inning begins with a runner at second base. Messalonskee couldn’t push its runner across the plate in the top of the 10th. But after a walk in the bottom of the 10th, a pickoff attempt was made on Fitzgerald at second base, but missed and found its way into right field, giving the speedy Fitzgerald enough room to round third and reach home plate to end the game.

“I’m happy that we showed some character and kept battling,” Johnson said. “It would have been easy to fall apart at times and we found a way to stay focused and competed and that’s what really matters.”

It was the second straight close game for the River Hawks, who beat Hampden Academy 8-6 in the season opener on Tuesday.