YARMOUTH — York pitcher Stephanie Rundlett wasn’t perfect Friday afternoon, but she was pretty close in a showdown between two of the top softball teams in Western Class B.

Rundlett allowed three hits and struck out 15 as the unbeaten Wildcats rolled to a 6-1 win over Yarmouth, continuing their amazing turnaround from last season.

York, which went 2-14 a year ago, has won its first 13 games of the season to grab a firm hold of the top spot in the Heal point standings.

“Last year, we had a lot of games that were very close,” said York Coach Mona Blais, recalling how the Wildcats lost two one-run games to regional champion Wells. “We played teams well last year. We just couldn’t finish it.”

Rundlett, a junior, has become a dominant pitcher and the Wildcats have developed a knack for clutch hits.

“If we can get Steph some runs, it makes her job easier,” Blais said. “Then she can start mixing up her pitches, which can throw batters off.”

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Rundlett got all of the runs she needed when the Wildcats scored five runs in the second inning.

“With such a good pitcher, such a dominant pitcher, you can’t give up easy runs, and we did that,” Yarmouth Coach Amy Ashley said.

With one out, York strung together four consecutive hits. Singles by Sequoia Fister, Julia Harrod, Kiley Blondin and Ashlee Orstadt and an error produced the first two runs. With two outs, Hannah Brown singled home another run. Kendall Carr then reached on an error to load the bases for Rundlett, who blasted a ground-rule double into the gap in right for a 5-0 lead.

“We gave them four or five outs that inning,” Ashley said. “With a good team, you can’t give them any more than three (outs),” Ashley said.

Rundlett, who walked four batters, didn’t allow a hit until Eleanor O’Gorman lined a single to left with two outs in the fourth.

“I throw the curve and the rise, usually,” Rundlett said. “Most of today it was curves.”

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York added a run in the top of the sixth to make it 6-0.

Blondin, who had three hits without hitting the ball out of the infield, led off with a bunt single and went to second on a throwing error. She moved to third when Orstadt grounded out to second base, then beat a throw to the plate after Olivia Coughlin grounded out to third.

The Clippers scored in the bottom of the sixth.

Mari Cooper led off with a walk and came all the way around to score when Cat Thompson’s bad-hop single got through the left side and was mishandled in the outfield.

With the loss, Yarmouth dropped to 10-3 and fell from second to fourth place in the Heal standings.

“In the three games (where we’ve faced) a lot of pressure – Poland, Greely and York – we’ve had one bad inning in every one of those games,” Ashley said. “It’s frustrating, but we have a lot to work on and we still have some time left. We want to be in the playoffs, and hopefully we can be a new team once we get there.”


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