Lady Warriors overtake Katahdin; go for Class D title tonight

Photograph courtesy of Susie Tarr
ERRANT THROW – Katahdin’s Melissa Duffy gets her foot on third base, as SACS’ Olivia Raymond gets caught up with Duffy on the play and the ball goes out of play. The Lady Warriors defeated Katahdin, 10-9 in the semis and will  face Deer Isle-Stonington for the Class D title.
By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    It took until the bottom of the seventh for Southern Aroostook to overtake Katahdin, 10-9, in the Class D semifinals on Saturday in Dyer Brook.
    “It was very exciting,” said SACS coach Rob Betschner. “It could have gone either way. They had us down two runs in the bottom of the seventh and we managed to come back and win the game. But, it wasn’t easy.”
    The Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors will play No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington at 7 p.m. tonight in Brewer for the Class D Eastern Maine championship.
    “They have a good pitcher,” said Betschner, who was able to watch the Mariners this season. “They are a solid team and well coached. They have improved a lot. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
SNAGS THE BALL – Elisha Farley of East Grand snags the ball during last week’s Class D quarterfinal game in Dyer Brook.
    The keys for the Lady Warriors, according to their coach, will be hitting junior Sydney Ouzts, a transfer student from Pittsburgh, who is probably one of the faster pitchers the girls have seen this season; putting the ball in play and not giving Deer Isle-Stonington more than three outs an inning.
    “We will go and just try to play a good game,” Betschner said.
    The Lady Warriors since Betschner has been varsity coach, has made the finals two of the last five years.
    The Lady Cougars were in stride early in the game on Saturday, but the rain stalled them.
    “We hit the ball well the first couple of innings,” said Katahdin coach Terry Duffy. “Then, we tailed off. The rain delay that took a little momentum away from us.”
    The teams had played each other twice on the regular season, with each team picking up a win. On Saturday, the better team that day won.
    “We were pretty evenly matched,” Duffy said. “It was a good game. A hard one to lose. But, Southern Aroostook played well to come back and they hit the ball in the last inning. They got the job done. We didn’t beat ourselves.”
    “We knew that they would play us hard,” Betschner said.
    To start the game, Katahdin’s Melissa Duffy singled and advanced when Kali Rush reached on an infield error. Then, Dani-Beth Cyr doubled to drive in both runners. Myah Smallwood singled and Megan Merry reached on another infield error that brought in two more runs.
SNATCHES BALL – Katahdin’s Melissa Duffy reaches out to snatch a soft fly ball during last week’s playoff action.
    But, the Lady Warriors answered, taking a 5-4 lead, as Rochelle Nadeau singled, followed by a walk to Evangeline Goodall and another single by Liz Goodall. Nadeau stole home and Kaitlyn Sommers drove in Evangeline Goodall with a single. L. Goodall stole home and Olivia Raymond singled. Then, Bree Bubar hit a two-run single.
    Katahdin held an 8-5 lead in the second when Olivia McNally banged out a double, followed by a Duffy single. McNally scored on a throw to first and Cyr singled in Duffy. Smallwood reached on an outfield error, bringing in Cyr and then Makayla Patterson doubled in Smallwood.
     In the fourth, Jillian Diaferio pinch ran for Shelby Hartin, who reached on an infield error. Raymond followed with a walk and then Jasmine Rockwell moved Diaferio to third on a single, and Diaferio then scored on a passed ball.
    In the fifth, L. Goodall singled and advanced around the bases, stealing home on a passed ball, as the Lady Warriors trailed by a run, 8-7.
    In the sixth, Katahdin came around to score their last run of the game when Rush singled and was driven in by Smallwood’s grounder to the third base side.
    Though facing a two-run deficit, Betschner was confident going into the frame.
SWINGS – East Grand’s Shaunna Beaudoin makes contact with the ball in last week’s Class D quarterfinal game in Dyer Brook.
    E. Goodall opened the inning by being hit by a pitch and her sister, L. Goodall singled. With runners in scoring position, Sommers belted a single to drive in E. Goodall. With no outs, Hartin then stroked a double to right-center bringing in L. Goodall for the tying run and Sommers with the game winner.
    The Lady Cougars, who played with just nine players, graduated three seniors McNally, Duffy and Rush.
    “We had a really good year,” Duffy said. “We didn’t have any injuries. We have good eighth-graders coming in and we have our pitcher back, so we should be right back in the thick of it next year.”
Lady Warriors too much
for young Vikings
    The veteran-laden Lady Warriors (seven seniors) were too much for East Grand to overtake in the quarterfinals in Dyer Brook last Thursday.
    The Lady Warriors defeated East Grand, 9-1.
    “We played a much older team,” said East Grand coach Shaun Beaudoin. “Southern Aroostook is a very good team and we knew that coming in here.”
    It has been 15 years since an East Grand squad has made a postseason appearance.
    “We only lose one player,” said Beaudoin. “I think things are going to be very, very good for us for the next few years. We will pick up a couple of youngsters to fill the team. So, I’m very confident.”
    The Lady Vikings are young, as they started an eighth-grader, five freshmen and two sophomores and a senior.
    “They are very young,” said Beaudoin. “This is their first playoff experience. I’m very proud of them. They played the whole game.”
    SACS took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, adding another two runs in the fourth before scoring five runs in the sixth to secure the win.
    E. Goodall fired a two-hitter, with Shaunna Beaudoin and Jenny Armstrong reaching her for base hits. Goodall struck out 10 and walked six. She also helped her own cause with a three-run double in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the fourth to knock in four runs. Sommers had two singles and Hartin tripled for the winners.
    East Grand finishes its season with a 5-6 record.
    “I wanted them to go .500 in the school’s history,” said Beaudoin. “And, we did that. Once we got there, I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted a little more. But, I’m proud of them.”
Smallwood hits game winner
    Central Aroostook made centerfielder Brianne Hartin an extra infielder, in hopes of cutting down the winning run at the plate, during last Wednesday’s Eastern Maine quarterfinal game in Stacyville. However, Katahdin’s Myah Smallwood helped the No. 4 Lady Cougars escape the No. 5 Panthers in eight innings, 9-8.
    The Panthers had broke the 7-all tie in the top of the eighth when Paige Fletcher came home on Kristen Long’s double into the gap in center field.
    In the bottom of the frame, Katahdin went to work with Bailey McNally getting a single. Melissa Duffy laid down a bunt single to move McNally into scoring position.
    Kali Rush singled in McNally for the tying run, forcing the defensive adjustment.
    Smallwood then slapped the ball to the open field to score the game-winning run.
    “That was a good game,” said Katahdin coach Terry Duffy. “Central played real well and we played well to come back. We were fortunate to win. They gave us all we wanted.
    “We did almost the same thing to them that Southern Aroostook did to us,” he added. “Central played well defensively and hit the ball well too.”