OAKLAND — It was, as head coach Lee Johnson told his team following the game, an “ugly” victory for the Skowhegan softball team Monday.

In the field? Maybe. But at the plate? The River Hawks produced more than enough runs to make sure no harm came from one tough defensive inning.

Skowhegan pounded out 19 hits en route to a 13-7 victory over Messalonskee in a Class A North showdown. The win came as the River Hawks plated multiple runs in four separate innings to overcome four errors in the field in the fifth that led to six Eagles runs.

“We went through it, but we worked hard,” said Skowhegan’s Annabelle Morris, who was 3 for 4 with two RBIs. “We let our heads down, but we picked back up, and we got some hits and drove some people in.”

Carlie Jarvais led the way for Skowhegan with four hits and two RBIs, and Maddy Morris matched her sister’s three hits while also recording two RBIs. Lily Noyes got the win in the circle, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run.

Skowhegan scored first as three first-inning hits and a Messalonskee error put the River Hawks up 2-0. The Eagles answered with a run in the second, but a four-hit third from the visitors capped off by a Noyes triple put the visitors up 5-1 through three. Jarvais had hits for the River Hawks in both innings.

“Lately, I’ve been doing more slapping, and I’m definitely not getting in my head; I’m going up there and not thinking,” Jarvais said. “I just want to help my team. That’s really all it’s about.”

Skowhegan (2-0) stretched its lead even further in the fourth inning, plating two more runs on three hits. Then, in the fifth, the River Hawks added five runs on five hits and one Messalonskee error to move within striking distance of a potential mercy-rule win.

Instead, four errors in the field combined with four Messalonskee (1-2) hits saw the River Hawks’ lead trimmed to 12-7. Yet after a fifth error to begin the sixth, Noyes buckled down, striking out three of the last five batters she faced to seal the win.

Noyes and Natalie Gilman added two hits apiece for Skowhegan in the win, while Payton Alexander, Lexi Bayne, Audrey Mihm and Madi Wilson had two hits each for a Messalonskee team that finished with 12 total. Wilson pitched five innings for the Eagles in the loss, striking out two and allowing eight earned runs.

The strong performance at the plate was the second in as many games for Skowhegan. The River Hawks, who return all but two players from a team that went 16-3 and was the Class A North runner-up last season, knocked 17 base hits Saturday in a 15-0 victory over Camden Hills.

“We’re working together, and we want to play as a team,” Jarvais said. “I think it shows that we have a lot of chemistry. Some of us have played four years together — we have a big group of seniors. It’s very helpful to have that chemistry.”

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