TOPSHAM

Records! Throw them out the window.

That is what typically happens when Brunswick and Mt. Ararat meet in any “Battle of the Bridge” sport.

Take Tuesday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference high school softball matchup between the 2-13 Dragons and the 8-7 Eagles. On paper, Mt. Ararat, a playoff team in Class A North, handily wins and Brunswick goes off into the night with another tough loss.

Yes, Mt. Ararat did come out on top, but it was anything but easy for the Eagles, who held on for a 7-5 victory and enters the postseason on a high note riding a 9-7 mark.

“A win is a win, especially against Brunswick, which always plays us tough. No matter what the records are, they are a strong team with some good athletes that will get better and better,” said Mt. Ararat co-coach Al Graffam of the Dragons.

“We have been so unsuccessful, and today we knew it was OK to strike out, and all the good teams go out swinging. We cranked some balls against a good pitcher,” said Brunswick coach Hugh Dwyer. “Once they get a taste of confidence, it is huge. The last three games, that is the way that we have played and it bodes well for the future.”

With both teams having just one senior — Brunswick’s Emily Girardin and Mt. Ararat’s Sara Lamb — the future looks promising for both the Dragons and the Eagles.

In this one, it was Girardin that got things started for Brunswick. She singled with one out in the first, moved to second on a throwing error, to third on a groundball by Shea Sullivan and came home on a hard liner by Ketty Stinson for a 1-0 Dragons lead.

Mt. Ararat found its game in the second against Sullivan on the hill. Kate Guerin and Belle Benner reached on back-to-back infield singles and Nataleigh Ormsby dropped a bunt for another infield hit to load the bases. A fielder’s choice at the plate on a nice throw from Dragons’ shortstop Brooke Barter kept the Eagles off the board, momentarily, but two wild pitches allowed Benner and Ormsby to score. Zoe Stilphen hustled her way to first base on a slow roller for another infield hit and a 3-1 Eagles lead.

“We played our game at the beginning,” said Graffam.

Mt. Ararat produced two more runs in the third, with Guerin and Benner each singling in a run for a 5-1 Eagles lead.

Sullivan strikes

Brunswick needed a lift and the Dragons received it to open the fourth inning when Sullivan sent an Alana Weaver pitch over the leftfield fence for a home run.

“It felt really good coming off the bat,” said Sullivan. “We played really hard. We felt like that we were in it. We are excited for next season.”

The Eagles made it a 7-2 contest in the bottom of the fourth. Weaver walked and stole second. With one out, Kayleigh Temple doubled inside the left-field line to produce a run, and Temple scored on an RBI single by Lamb.

Back came the Dragons in the sixth. Once again Sullivan started the Brunswick rally, this time with a single. Stinson ripped a double and Barter singled for an RBI. An error allowed Stinson to score to get the Dragons to 7-5.

“That home run lifted them and then it was boom, boom, boom after that,” said Dwyer. “There are no egos on this team, but they know as Shea goes we go and they fed off of that.”

“Mentally, it is always tough with these guys as they always come to play and we always come to play,” said Lamb. “It is always a battle, and today in the heat it was tougher.”

A nice play by Sullivan on the mound produced a double play in the sixth, but the Dragons went down in order in the seventh to end the contest.

Graffam feels his team’s ability to play in close games will help come postseason time.

“We have played a lot of 2- 0 and 2-1 games, and we can play defense with anybody, knowing that the only team in the state that can beat us is us,” said Graffam.

Weaver earned the mound win on four strikeouts, no walks and seven hits. Sullivan took the loss, walking one, striking out four and permitting 11 Eagle hits.

Weaver, Lamb, Guerin and Benner had two hits each for Mt. Ararat, with Sullivan and Stinson the repeat hitters for Brunswick.

Mt. Ararat will learn its postseason opponent, site, date and time later this week.

Mt. Ararat 7, Brunswick 5

At Topsham

Shea Sullivan and Ketty Stinson; Alana Weaver and Kayleigh Temple. Doubles — (B) Margaret Dickinson, Ketty Stinson; (MtA) Alana Weaver, Kayleigh Temple. Home run — (B) Shea Sullivan. Repeat hitters — (B) Shea Sullivan, Ketty Stinson; (MtA) Alana Weaver, Kate Guerin, Belle Benner, Sara Lamb. Records — Mt. Ararat 9-7, Brunswick 2-14. Up next for the Eagles — Class A North preliminary, date, time and site TBA. Note — The season has come to a close for the Dragons.