NORTH BERWICK — A softball game with a ceremonious start concluded with a dramatic finish Wednesday, as the Maine Girls’Academy defeated Noble by a score of 4-3.

Prior to the game, cancer survivor Geoff Aleva, and father of Noble catcher Mackenzie Aleva, threw out the first pitch to Mackenzie. Afterwards the Noble team presented a check of $2,204 they’d raised for donation to the American Cancer Society. Lastly, senior players were announced, as the contest was the last home game of the season for Noble — and therefore senior night.

With the stirring opening and strong fan turnout, the game felt high-energy, and early scoring established that.

The Maine Girls’ Academy started off the scoring with a run in the first inning, before Noble responded with a pair of back-to-back doubles from pitcher Raegan Kelly and Aleva — followed by a wild pitch — to drive in two runs.

However the Maine Girls’ Academy would again reclaim the lead the following inning, when two batters hit by a pitch, a base hit driven to center field and two wild throws allowed the Lions to score three runs and take a 4-2 lead.

From there the Lions scoring stagnated, as Noble attempted to regain the lead.

“We had a bad inning in the second inning; we gave up about three runs with a few errors,” said Noble head coach Rick Melanson. “I was proud how they hung in there though and didn’t quit. It would have been easy to fold and go home, but they didn’t.”

Strong defense dominated until the final inning, as the score stayed put with both teams making off-balance catches on line drives and deep fly balls, as well as showing quick reactions on well-struck infield grounders.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, as pressure was mounting for the Lions to put the game away, the first Noble batter was walked before the following batter, Kelsey Lessard, crushed a shot to deep left field that carried in the wind before being caught by a Lions outfielder on the run.

“I thought that was on its way out,” Melanson said about Kelsey Lessard’s deep shot late in the game.

The next batter up however, Kelly, sent the ball in play into deep left field for a triple, scoring a run and bringing the game to 3-4. Nevertheless, the game would end with Kelly stranded on third base after a ground out.

Noble now sits at 11-3 on the season, and has already clinched a playoff spot. To solidify a better seeding, the team must come up with at least one win in their next two away games, which are at Windham today, followed by a matchup against an undefeated Scarborough squad on Saturday.