Staff Writer
DOVER-FOXCROFT – Presque Isle softball began their 2008 season with a perfect doubleheader against Foxcroft Academy on Saturday. The Wildcats outscored the Ponies 6-3 in the opening game and 18-5 in the final. In the first game, the Wildcats took a four-point lead in the first inning to keep just out of reach of Foxcroft. Jenna Stevenson led PIHS with a single and two RBIs. Allison Young and Jodi Buckley each had a single and an RBI.
In the second match, Buckley hit a triple, a single and tallied two RBIs. Young also had a triple, single and RBI for the Wildcats.
PIHS baseball split their doubleheader with the Ponies in two close games.
In the first game, the Wildcats and Foxcroft Academy remained tied from the fifth inning on. However, the Ponies scored a final run in the ninth for the win, 7-6. Bennett Cassidy tallied four hits, and Adam Kingsbury added two. Matt Chasse had three hits and three RBIs for PIHS.
According to head coach Tim Olore, pitcher Ethan Braley kept the Wildcats in the game for six innings on the mound.
In the second game, the pitching of Dillon Kingsbury, Brennan Shaw and Cassidy kept the Ponies from scoring for the 3-2 victory. A. Kingsbury hit for two RBIs, and Cassidy added two hits for PIHS.
“Great defensive efforts all afternoon came from catcher Steven Ford, who blocked many tough pitches, which prevented key runners from advancing,” commented Olore.
The split came after a successful pre-season trip in southern Maine where the Wildcats played six games. Highlights for the team included defeating Cape Elizabeth 2-1 and tying with Class A squad Noble 4-4.
“Overall, the trip was a huge success with our very young team continuing to learn, develop and improve each day,” said Olore. “We need to keep working hard and learning from our past so that we can achieve our goal of being the best that we can be.”
