FALMOUTH — Edith Aromando didn’t hesitate to take a risk. She rounded third base and ran towards home plate, determined to score.

She slipped, then quickly regained her footing and somehow beat the tag of Falmouth catcher Allie Carver to complete a home run and lift Greely to a 2-1 victory Tuesday in a Western Maine Class B softball preliminary-round game.

“People thought I hesitated going home because of the slip, and I just tried to get around the tag whatever way I could,” Aromando said. “I knew it was close, but it was worth it. We needed the runs.”

Aromando’s homer helped the ninth-seeded Rangers upset the eighth-ranked Yachtsmen. Greely (10-7) will face No. 1 Fryeburg Academy (16-0) in a regional quarterfinal Thursday at Fryeburg.

“We knew we were the underdogs, even in this game, because we’re the ninth seed,” Aromando said.

“We didn’t show our best during the regular season but we know this is a new season, a new start.”

Aromando had both of Greely’s hits in a game in which the Rangers and the Yachtsmen (8-9) combined for four hits, a testament to the efforts of Falmouth pitcher Kelsey Freedman and Greely pitcher Danielle Cimino.

“You had two good pitchers going and two good teams, really,” Falmouth Coach John Keyes said. “They got their hits when they needed them, and we didn’t. We left a lot of people on base.

“But it was probably one of the better games we’ve played. It was the cleanest game we played all year and that’s a lot of pressure, when they know they have to make the plays and they can do it.

“And the other team did the same thing.”

The Yachtsmen capitalized on an aggressive approach early, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Freedman drove in Sarah Collmus.

“We knew we had to attack,” Keyes said. “We knew we had to do whatever we could to move runners, and on defense, we did what we wanted to do, except in (the fourth) inning.”

Freedman kept the Rangers hitless until the top of the fourth, when she faced Aromando with Caroline Hamilton on first after reaching on an error.

Aromando sent a 2-2 pitch over the head of center fielder Lauren O’Donnell to drive in Hamilton, then continued around the bases and beat shortstop Jessie L’Heureux’s relay throw to Carver.

Falmouth put runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, with Maddie Inlow on second and Carver on third, the Rangers retired the next two batters to end the inning.

In the seventh, with Stephanie Gramse on third base and two outs, L’Heureux flied out to center field to end the game.

“We knew we needed that last out,” Aromando said. “It’s a lot of pressure knowing that runner’s right there on third, but that’s when we know we perform the best, when that pressure is there.”

 

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at: rlenzi@pressherald.com

Twitter: rlenzi

 

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