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| Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg Third baseman Ellyzabeth Bencivenga reaches out to snag this pop fly, while Limestone-MSSM teammate Daniele Pelkey and umpire John Hedman watch the play, during Thursday’s EM Class D quarterfinal against Fort Fairfield. |
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
LIMESTONE – Penobscot Valley High School pitcher Kayla Dube faced just one batter over the minimum during the first six innings and the Howlers bested the Eagles in an Eastern Maine Class D softball semifinal Saturday, 8-2.
The loss put an end to a great season for Limestone-MSSM, which lost just two regular season games — one to East Grand and the other to Central Aroostook — and held the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Against PVHS, however, the Eagles were unable to solve Dube, and weren’t able to push across any runs until the seventh.
“She was fast, but she had great control,” said Limestone-MSSM coach Ryan O’Neal. “She lived on the outside corner and she threw a good change-up in many different counts, which we don’t see during the year.
“We had a difficult time squaring up on the ball as she had a lot of movement on her pitch.”
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| Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg Caribou shortstop Aneesha Hersey makes a late tag on Old Town baserunner Michaela Milton in the fifth inning of Thursday’s EM Class B quarterfinal. Milton scored the game’s lone run as the Coyotes advanced. |
The Howlers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third as No. 9 hitter Alissa Whitten walked, stole second and third and came across on a wild pitch.
They tacked on their first insurance run in the fifth when Molly McGinn opened with a single and advanced around the bases on wild pitches.
The guests scored two more runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh, before the Eagles finally got on the scoreboard.
Daniele Pelkey lined a single down the third base line before Stephanie Leighton reached on a error. Both came across on passed balls.
However, Limestone-MSSM was unable to muster any additional offense and PVHS advanced to tonight’s EM championship game against Deer Isle-Stonington in Brewer.
“We needed to play a perfect game and if we were going to win it, it was going to have to be a 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2 score,” O’Neal said. “We just didn’t play tight enough defensively. They hit a few seeing-eye singles in key situations.
“[Pitcher] Amanda [Allen] dominated them for much of the game, so I think if we could have scored even one run early, that may have put enough pressure on them that they may have fallen apart.”
Kelsee Albert doubled in the fifth to break up Dube’s perfect game.
Two days earlier, Limestone-MSSM took on Fort Fairfield in a quarterfinal game and even though the game was close in the middle innings, the Eagles put together a seven-run rally in the fifth for a 15-3 victory in a game called due to the 12-run rule.
Ahead 8-5, the hosts sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth. The game was clinched when Allen came up with the bases loaded and singled to right field. The ball got past the right fielder, so the bases were cleared and Allen eventually came across for the game-clinching run.
“It was one of our most complete games,” O’Neal said. “Our defense was good and Amanda was efficient on the mound, but it was really about our sticks.”
The offense erupted for 18 hits and six different players had multiple-hit game. Melissa Cantafio led the way with a two-run homer and two other hits.
Jordann Coiley walked only three batters in a solid effort on the mound for Fort. Five different players had hits for the Tigers, who had beaten Ashland in a prelim contest held last Tuesday.
