NAPLES — The losses kept coming but the Lake Region softball team kept growing, and Wednesday the players finally put it together.

The Lakers collected just their second victory of the season, scoring an 8-1 victory against Cape Elizabeth in a Western Maine Conference game.

The Lakers improved their record to 2-10 behind strong pitching from Haley Fernald and an offense led by Madison Rock, who finished with three hits, two runs and an RBI.

Rock’s first hit came in the first inning, when she ripped an RBI single to center.

Fernald held that advantage for the rest of the game, only allowing a run in the seventh when the Capers (6-6) scored on a double by Kelly O’Sullivan.

Though Fernald didn’t overpower Cape Elizabeth, Coach Wayne Pivet was impressed with her off-speed pitches and control.

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“Haley is only a sophomore, and she’s one of these kids that works at it every single day,” Pivet said.

“Today she did a great job hitting spots when she had to, made big pitches in key moments and really continued to grow as a pitcher.”

Lake Region’s defense also came through.

With one out in the second, Rock threw out a runner attempting to steal third. Center fielder Kaylyn Lorrain saved a run in the fifth when, with a runner on third and two outs, she tracked back and snow-coned a backhanded catch.

The Lakers then pulled away in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs.

With one out, Rock laced a ground-rule double down the left-field line, then scored on consecutive wild pitches.

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Elizabeth Cole capped the inning by lining a two-run single to right-center.

Pivet praised Cole’s intense approach and said that her attitude set the tone for the entire team.

“I told the team, this game is about having some passion about what you’re doing,” said Pivet.

“And today, (Cole) was a perfect example, and I thought she did a great job of sparking things for us.”

Lake Region added four runs in the sixth, thanks in part to sloppiness by the Capers.

Fernald reached on a two-base error by the left fielder, then came around to score on another wild pitch.

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“Our team all season long has played really, really hard,” said Pivet.

“They’ve been very close to pulling out wins against what I would consider to be top-quality teams. Little mistakes here and there just prevented them from succeeding.

“Today, they played very strong defense, had clutch hits, which we haven’t had most of the season, and played with an attitude.”

Both teams will play again Friday, with Cape Elizabeth at home against Yarmouth and Lake Region traveling to Freeport.


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