Deer Isle—The girls softball team beat Sumner 20-13 on May 15 in a come from behind win that is not reflected in the final score. Trailing by three or more runs throughout the game, our bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning as we pounded out 11 runs to take a commanding lead. Sumner managed to get two runs in the seventh, and had the bases loaded before we made the last out.
Deer Isle-Stonington softball outfielder Lily Gray lays out to make a play on the ball during a game against Sumner on May 15. Photo by Jack Scott
It wasn’t our best game overall and pitcher Taylor Hardy struggled at times but came through in the end. Makayla Lebel belted a home run over the center field fence for her second home run in two games. Also, Abby Stinson had two doubles and two singles, Brienna Limeburner had two doubles and a single for two RBIs, Brittany Gray had a double and two singles and Kristin Thompson had two doubles for three RBIs.
The girls lost a frustrating double header to the State Champion Greenville team 11-5 and 13-2 on May 18. Greenville didn’t have an overpowering pitcher, but she was accurate and gave out only three walks in the two games. Greenville combined bunting and aggressive base running to score runs as we committed many throwing errors rushing to catch them. We gave up four runs in the first inning and Greenville never hit the ball past the pitcher.
Taylor Hardy pitched two good games, with Brittany Gray pitching the last two innings of the first game. She had three strikeouts and six walks in the first game and eight strikeouts and five walks in the second. In the first game, Brienna Limeburner and Lily Gray each had two hits and an RBI, Abby Stinson and Kaylee Morey each had two hits, and Taylor Hardy had a double.
In the second game, Brienna Limeburner had a home run, Katie Hutchinson a double, and Kaylee Morey and Makayla Lebel each had a single. We were rattled by their small ball and aggressive base running, but this is why playing the better teams makes us better. We were taken to school and now we need to learn from this and be ready to deal with it in the future.
The girls are 8-4 and in a close sixth place. The whooping that Greenville put on us should get us motivated to be consistent in our last four games and prepare us for the playoffs. Where we go from there will depend on keeping our focus sharp on the field.