GORHAM — McAuley High’s softball team has almost been an afterthought this season, ranking behind South Portland, Scarborough, Thornton Academy and Biddeford in many minds.
Well, perhaps people should start taking the Lions seriously.
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McAuley ran its record to 10-0 Monday with a convincing 12-0 victory over Gorham, a game called after five innings because of the 12-run rule.
The Lions received strong pitching from senior Jen Field, timely hitting from just about everybody and good defense.
“The kids have come to play,” said McAuley Coach Robbie Ferrante. “We’re feeling much more comfortable this year. Everyone still has us as the fifth-best team in the conference and that’s fine. We just want to play.”
Granted, McAuley still has to play the Big Four, starting with a game Friday against Thornton Academy. But the Lions have gained much confidence in running the table thus far.
“We know we have some tough games down the stretch,” said Field, who improved to 2-0. “But games like this keep our confidence up going into those games.”
The Lions broke this game open by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fourth (McAuley was the home team, though the game was moved to Gorham Middle School because of poor field conditions in Portland). McAuley sent 12 batters to the plate, getting five hits and taking advantage of two throwing errors.
Sophomore catcher Sam Schildroth had two RBI singles in that inning, and Molly Mack and Maura Ester also had RBI singles.
“It really was a team effort,” said Schildroth. “Everybody was hitting. It felt good to break through like that.”
“It’s always good to get a lot of runs,” said Field, who allowed only two hits and didn’t walk anyone. “We’ve played a lot of close games.”
Five of the Lions’ wins have been by one run.
Five players each had two hits for McAuley – Shelby Bryant, Schildroth, Sarah Mercier, Mack and Ester.
Mercier drove in three runs, getting an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the second.
For Gorham (4-6), it was a disappointing effort, especially coming off a 2-1 loss to Bonny Eagle last Friday.
“We’ve played better,” said Dennis Crowe, the Rams’ first-year head coach. “We didn’t field the ball well and we didn’t put any hits together, which has been the story of our season.”
The Rams began the week ranked eighth in the Heal point standings and face playoff contenders Sanford and Kennebunk in their next two games.
McAuley will see its schedule get ramped up the last two weeks.
“The kids want to play those teams,” said Ferrante. “We want to see where we stand.”
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
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