Ashland places 2nd in County softball
PRESQUE ISLE — Caribou batted around the order and scored six times in the fourth inning, breaking a 4-4 tie and leading the way to an 11-4 victory over Ashland Thursday in the finals of the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association’s junior girls softball Aroostook County tournament.
CAMI DEABAY of the Ashland junior softball team is congratulated near the dugout after scoring a first-inning run in Thursday’s championship game of the Aroostook County tournament held in Presque Isle. 
Ashland fell to Caribou, 11-4.
Katie Clark led off the key inning with a double. After the next two batters were retired, seven reached in consecutive order. Ashley Matlock had an infield hit to drive in Clark. Ciara Richards then reached on an error, followed by a three-run homer off the bat of Maddie Doucette.
Sydney Thompson then singled before Rachel Soucy got aboard on another Ashland fielding error before JoJo Fields drove in both baserunners with a double. Britta Treu then walked before Clark was retired to finally end the inning.
Soucy recorded the pitching victory by allowing only one run in three innings of work in relief of Doucette, who started and went the first two frames. The duo combined for nine strikeouts in the contest.
Caribou took a 4-0 lead in the first inning on RBI hits by Doucette and Clark and a two-run single by Treu.
Ashland bounced back by scoring three times in its half of the first. Morgan Doughty walked and with two outs, Cassidy Pelletier singled before starting pitcher Cami Deabay doubled in both runs and came across on a Caribou error.
Ashland was able to tie the score in the second as Michaela Driscoll got aboard on an infield error and scored on a two-out single by Doughty.
Both teams went scoreless in the third before Caribou mounted its rally in the fourth.
Matlock and Clark finished with three hits each for the winners, who had beaten Houlton in the quarterfinals and Fort Fairfield in the semis.
Ashland’s road to the title game included victories over both Mars Hill and host Presque Isle.
