FREEPORT — Freeport and Poland High Schools played to a 5-5 tie in five innings in Western Maine Conference softball on Monday before a brief heavy rainstorm left the field at Hunter Road Fields unplayable and the game was called. 

“Look at the fields, we can’t continue to play on that, the umpires called it,” Freeport coach Jason Daniel said pointing to puddles of water surrounding home plate. “Sure, we would have like to have won, it was right there for the taking, but we played a really good game against an excellent team.” 

Freeport jumped out to a quick lead in the second inning, plating three runs behind four Falcons hits. Sarah Gray led off the frame with a single, followed by a base knock from Annie Kelley and a walk to Abbye Koenig to load the bases. 

Next batter, freshman Brook Pawlowski hit a single to left, advancing the runners a base. Brooke Toothaker followed with another RBI single and Abby Brier hit a sacrifice fly to score Koenig. Poland starter Ally Gagne induced an Alexys Langley pop up to the catcher to strand a pair. 

“We have to be confident at the plate and be on top of the ball,” Daniel said. “We needed to get some runs, which we did there, but it really would have helped to push across another one or two.” 

Freeport starter Alexa Koenig kept the Poland hitters in check over the first three innings. A first inning two-out single to Poland’s Emma Bunyea was quickly erased when Langley threw her out attempting to steal second. The senior pitcher allowed a base hit in the second, but again worked out of a jam strand two more runners by getting a pair of groundouts to end the second. She retired the Knights, one-two-three in the third. 

“She pitched an incredible game,” Daniel said. “She’s the type of player that in the past didn’t want to pitch, and I set her aside this year and said, ‘you need to step up’ and she has.” 

The Falcons (5-7-1) tacked on another run in the third inning after Alexa Koenig was hit by a pitch and Gray’s second single put two runners on. Freshman Jaclyn Burke brought home the runner from third on a groundout to give Freeport a 4-0 lead. 

Poland pitcher, Karley O’Leary, who replaced Gagne at the top of the frame, fanned the final two Falcons,

stranding a runner on third. 

Poland strikes back 

The Knights (8-4-1) struck back in the fourth, tying the score with four runs on two hits and a Freeport error. 

Bunyea led off the frame with a hit before Alexa Koenig fanned the next two batters. A pair of walks led to a two-run single by Gagne to cut the deficit to 4-2. An infield error on the next batter pushed across two more runs to tie the score. 

“Defensively we have a really good team. We just sometimes have a play or two that lets us down,” Daniel said. “If we make a play there, we still have a two-run lead after the inning.” 

As the rain began to fall in the bottom of the fourth, a leadoff single by Pawlowski was erased on a double play to end the inning. 

Poland took the lead in the fifth after Bunyea reached base after her third hit of the contest, coming around to score on a couple of wild pitches. 

Alexa Koenig hit a one-out triple in the fifth, sliding into third base just ahead of Poland’s Shelby Lafrinea throw from deep left field. Gray then hit a ground ball to second and Koenig once again beat the throw and the Falcons evened the score at 5-5. 

O’Leary stranded two Falcons by first catching a line drive back in the box by Kelley and a fly out to right to end the inning. 

As the inning ended, the rains became heavy, and many puddles formed in the infield, prompting a meeting between the coaches and umpires, where the officials called the game. 

Conversations were then held among school officials and according to the rules, the game was called a tie. 

“I looked at the rules and talked with both the home plate umpire and my AD and a game becomes official due to weather after five innings. We were tied, so the game ends that way,” Daniel said. 

Poland’s Bunyea finished with three hits while scoring two runs. Ally Gagne went two innings on the mound, giving up three runs, surrendering four hits, while striking out two and walking one. Karley O’Leary pitched three innings, allowing two runs, while striking out three. She also hit a batter. 

Gray and Pawlowski each finished with two hits for the Falcons, while Alexa Koenig went the distance on the hill, giving up three earned runs, scattering six hits, while she struck out four hitters and walked two. 

“Again, I’m really proud of these girls. We just had that let down in that one inning. They (Poland) have run ruled us a lot the last five years, today we came to play. I have a lot of respect for Kayla (Poland head coach) as I’ve learned a lot from her and to play a tight game against one her teams just shows how Freeport is coming along.” 

Freeport next plays at Fryeburg Academy on Wednesday at 4 p.m., then travels to Gray-New Gloucester on Friday before concluding the regular season at home on May 28 against Yarmouth. 

“We’ll be ready for Fryeburg, just like we were ready and focused today,” Daniel added. 

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