MT. ARARAT CENTER FIELDER Ema Hawkes runs down this fly ball off the bat of Camden Hills’Laticia Billings on Friday in KVAC softball game at Topsham. The Eagles came from behind for a 13-12 win in eight innings.
TOPSHAM
Friday afternoon’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference high school softball game between Camden Hills and Mt. Ararat had the feel of the team that came to hit last was going to pull out the victory.
MT. ARARAT base runner Jamiey Weidner, left, is out at first by a step as Camden Hills first baseman Alyson Glasier steps on the bag.
Thankfully for the Eagles, it was the hosts that had that final chance.
Kayleigh Temple’s fourth hit of the game in the eighth inning scored Ema Hawkes with the game-winning run as Mt. Ararat edged Camden Hills, 13-12, for its second win of the season (2-6).
Trailing 12-11 after Camden (1-9) grabbed a lead in the top of the eighth, leadoff hitter Zoe Stilphen drove a double to the fence in center field, also her fourth base-knock of the contest. Hawkes dropped a bunt and beat the throw to first, with Temple scoring as the throw bounced into foul territory. Hawkes took second and easily scored when Temple drove a Grace O’Connell offering just inside the third-base bag for a walk-off double.
MT. ARARAT SHORTSTOP Zoe Stilphen applies the tag late as Camden Hills’ Amy Kunzinger (12) steals second in Topsham on Friday. Stilphen picked up four hits in the Eagles’ 13-12 victory in eight innings. Mt. Ararat is 2-6 with Messalonskee coming to Topsham today at 4:15 p.m.
“I have been trying to stay on my hitting game this year, and it feels good to help the team,” said Temple, who discussed the importance of Stilphen at the top of the lineup. “I can always count on Zoe to be on base, which is big for us.”
“I see us coming around and hitting the ball,” said Stilphen. “When we gather together every inning, we are confident with everyone in our lineup.”
For Camden Hills coach Rowena Motylewski, watching her team recover from a 9-4 deficit was a positive step moving forward.
“We have been in huge run deficits before and today we just kept at it and kept the energy up,” Motylewski said. “This was a step forward for us and I am proud of them.”
O’Connell and Mt. Ararat starting pitcher Morgan Johnson began strong, with the Windjammers leading 2- 0 in the third inning. Laticia Billings launched a solo home run in the first and Lauren Miller scored on a second inning wild pitch.
But, Mt. Ararat turned up the heat in the third, plating four runs. With two outs, Stilphen blooped a single to right field, and Hawkes reached on an error, with Stilphen hustling all the way to third. She scored on a wild pitch.
“Offensively, Zoe has been very important,” Mt. Ararat coach Al Graffam said. “She is a great base runner, is a senior and has played a lot of ball. She always knows when to take that extra base.”
Temple roped a run-scoring single to left to tie the game, and Emily Wormwood ripped an RBI triple to the right-center field fence. Wormwood scored one pitch later on a Jaden Lohr single.
The Windjammers quickly tied the game in the fourth on a two-run single by Gillian LaFleche. But, the Eagles seemed to gain control in the bottom of the inning, scoring five more runs for a 9-4 lead, with Shelby Moore, Kelsey Scannevin, Stilphen, Hawkes and Temple (two-run single) touching the plate.
“We have been getting better, putting it together, and we are making improvement all the time and shooting to get into the tournament,” Graffam said.
Windjammers rally
Camden Hills kept the offense going in the fifth. Logan Carney reached on an error, Nicole Brown singled and O’Connell walked to load the bases with nobody out.
Billings grounded back to Johnson, with Carney scoring, and a sacrifice fly ball by Alyson Glasier scored Brown. Miller ripped a double, followed by a single by LaFleche to make for a 9-8 contest.
O’Connell retired the Eagles in order in the fifth, then helped her team grab an 11-9 lead in the sixth. Carney again opened the inning by reaching, this time on an infield single. Brown walked and O’Connell singled to load the bases. Glasier’s second sacrifice fly tied the game, and Brown and O’Connell worked a double steal, with Brown scoring for a 10-9 Windjammer lead. Miller slammed her second double to plate O’Connell to close out the three-run uprising.
Stilphen doubled and scored on a Temple single in the sixth, and a sacrifice fly ball by Scannevin brought home Camille Rowe with the tying run in the seventh to force extra innings.
In the Windjammer eighth Miller again came through, sending a double to the gap in right-center field to score Billings for a 12-11 Camden lead.
“Everybody went into this really hungry and both teams wanted to win,” said Miller after her 5-for-5 performance, with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs. “Things didn’t end in our favor today, but it was a big step and showed us that when we are down, we can come back against a good team.”
Rowe picked up the mound win in relief, pitching three innings with one walk, five hits and four runs allowed. O’Connell went the distance for Camden with two strikeouts, two walks and 13 hits.
LaFleche and O’Connell were each 2-for-4 for Camden Hills as all nine starters picked up at least one hit.
Stilphen and Temple were both 4-for-5 for the Eagles, who host Messalonskee today at 4:15 p.m.
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