Members of the Messalonskee softball team celebrate after they upset No. 1 seed Brunswick 4-2 in a Class A North quarterfinal game Wednesday in Brunswick. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
BRUNSWICK – The Messalonskee softball team plated four runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally past top-seeded Brunswick, 4-2, in a Class A North quarterfinal game Wednesday afternoon.
The ninth-seeded Eagles will play either No. 5 Bangor or No. 4 Hampden Academy in the regional semifinals Saturday.
Messalonskee pitcher Morgan Wills fired a no-hitter while fanning 15 Dragons. Audrey Mihm and Jordan Lambert each had a pair of hits for the visitors.
“She one tough pitcher,” said Messalonskee coach Samantha Tunningley. “She has great awareness and always picks us up.”
“She’s the best in the state from what I’ve seen,” added Brunswick coach Hugh Dwyer. “We watched her (Tuesday) and knew what to expect. She’s outstanding.”
Brunswick led 2-0 going into the seventh before the Eagles rallied.
Lambert led off the seventh with a hit, and after a one-out walk Kyra Cummings hit an RBI single to cut the lead in half. Mihm immediately hit a fair ball down the left field line to tie the score at 2-2. Isabell Culver then hit a sacrifice fly to plate Cummings with the go-ahead run. Bayne added an RBI single for an insurance run before Ellie Sullivan struck out Willis to end the inning.
“It was amazing to see how these girls never give up,” said Tunningley. “They’re starting to peak at the right time.”
Members of the Brunswick softball team console each other after they dropped a 4-2 decision to Messalonskee in a Class A North quarterfinal game Wednesday in Brunswick. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
Brunswick escaped trouble in the sixth to preserve its 2-0 lead. Messalonskee loaded the bases with only one out, but Sullivan worked out the jam. Mihm led off the frame with a double and Elise McDonald shot a drive up the middle, where Brunswick’s Kelsey Cassidy dove to stop the ball from getting to the outfield, which prevented g a run from scoring. Sullivan struck out the next batter before Lexis Bayne laid down a perfect bunt that left no play for the Dragons defense, which loaded the bases. Sullivan then got Wills on a comebacker and Sullivan turned a double play with her sister Kelsey behind the plate to end the inning.
“Even though we didn’t score, I think we grabbed the momentum back after the sixth inning,” said Wills, whose team beat Lewiston 14-0 in a regional prelim game Tuesday. “I love playing with my team as we never quit as you can see, the game is never over.”
“This was a good team, we knew they were going to be tough after our earlier meeting and watching them yesterday,” added Dwyer, whose team edged Messalonskee 3-2 in the regular season.
Brunswick (15-2) opened the scoring with a lone run in the second. Ellie Sullivan walked and was pinch ran for by Ava Wolverton, who promptly stole second. Riley McCallister laid down a bunt that wasn’t handled by the defense to put Dragon baserunners at first and third and one out. Wolverton scored on a passed ball for the run.
The Dragons manufactured their second run in the bottom of the fourth after Kelsey Sullivan reached first on a wild pitch after swinging at strike three. After advancing to third on a pair of steals, Sophia Morin hit a sacrifice fly to score Sullivan to make it 2-0.
For the first five innings, Ellie Sullivan scattered just two hits while striking out three of her five batters and walking none.
“The word is honor with these girls,” said Dwyer of his squad. “They are such a phenomenal group. If someone was watching and wanted to know how to raise a child today — National Honors Society, most of them are heading off to college, they come to practice every day and find ways to get better. They outwork anyone I’ve seen. You don’t go 15-1 in our league without that kind of character.”
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