BATH

The Belfast Area High School softball team used small-ball from the get-go in Tuesday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game in Bath. A slap here, a bunt or a stolen base there. And early, it worked. as three runs came across in the first two innings.

Morse, on the other hand, opted for power hitting and lots of it. Freshman Dory Kulis erased those early runs with four RBIs and Hope Faulkingham sent one flying over the fence as the Shipbuilders blasted their way to a 9-5 win.

If you want to beat this Morse team, you’ll have to use the bats.

“We’ve been doing a lot of batting practice and seeing the ball very well,” Kulis said. “Doing batting practice in practice and just focusing on hitting the ball and not just cranking it.”

Though, on some occasions, that’s exactly what the Shipbuilders (4-1) did. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the second, Marissa Parks got things going by reaching first on an error. Olivia Potter walked in the next at-bat and made way for Kulis, who roped a two-RBI single to make it 4-2. Another walk of Paige Faulkingham set up Micailah Albertson in the leadoff spot. She crushed a two-RBI triple to right field.

Then, in the third inning, Hope Faulkingham lifted a long homer over the left-field fence to make the score 5-3. Morse has scored at least six runs in all five games this season, and experience has a lot to do with it.

“Hope (Faulkingham) and Olivia (Potter), three and the five hole, four-year varsity players,” Morse coach Will Laffely said. “The two hole and the four hole, Sierra (Wallace) and Marissa (Parks), juniors, third year varsity. And then Micailah Albertson’s in her second year in center field. You can see, as a leadoff hitter, she hit that ball almost on the fence. A lot of leadership. I’ve got three seniors, they’ve all been here four years and then juniors with three years of experience under their belt. It’s nice to see.”

Hope Faulkingham singled in the fifth and kick-started another big inning for the hosts. Faulkingham reached second after a throw-out, and then a Parks single moved her over to third. Potter then singled her home before Kulis came up and laced another two-RBI knock into right. While balancing a complete game on the mound, she finished 2-for-3 with four runs batted in.

“She’s a really good hitter. She’s got a lot of power, too,” Laffely said of Kulis. “She actually hits with power as well. I don’t think there’s a part of this game that the girl can’t play.”

Trust the defense

Kulis’ day on the circle started with Belfast’s (2-5) Olivia Lovejoy reaching first on an infield grounder. A bunt moved her over and then Maya Cunningham was stung with a pitch in the three spot. Vanessa Grotton took advantage by doubling in Lovejoy to make it 1-0.

Then in the second, a leadoff walk, single and wild pitch led to another run before Macy Gale notched an RBI in the eight spot to make the score 3-0. Kulis tossed 36 pitches in the first two frames and needed a deep breath before heading out in the third.

“I settled in and realized that I had a good team behind me,” Kulis said. “They would make the plays behind me when they hit the ball.”

Right fielder Kali Pierce did just that in Gatton’s second at bat, snaring a sharp liner headed for the gap. The Morse defense, which prevented two more runs from scoring in the first inning with a pair of throw-outs at home, carried Kulis through the next four innings, giving up just one run on an error. Kulis finished with six strikeouts over six innings and left two Belfast runners on in the seventh to ice the game.

For a freshman, she settled in just fine.

“She has a lot of movement on her pitches,” Laffely said of Kulis. “To me, a lot of those looked like they may have been catching the corner. But he may be calling it where it’s caught, and I think sometimes that may frustrate her. She gets 2-0, now she’s got to come back. But she’s very poised for a freshman.”

Hope Faulkingham and Potter each got on base three times for Morse, which is slated to host Gardiner today at 4 p.m. The Shipbuilders have now won four games in a row after dropping the opener to Medomak Valley.

“I think we can go very far,” Kulis said. “Our first game was a little shaky, but all-in-all, we’ve been playing better as a team. We’ve been progressing at the plate and in the field.”

Morse 9, Belfast 5

At Morse High School

	Belfast		— 120	001	1	—	5-7-2
Morse		—	041	040	X	—	9-9-2

Brooke Richards and Maya Cunningham; Dory Kulis and Paige Faulkingham. WP— Kulis. LP — Richards. Doubles — (B) Vanessa Grotton, Maya Cunningham. Triple — (Mo) Micailah Albertson. Home run — (Mo) Hope Faulkingham. Repeat hitters — (B) Vanessa Grotton, Alia Wallace, Macy Gale; (Mo) Hope Faulkingham, Olivia Potter, Dory Kulis. Records — Morse 4-1, Belfast 2-5. Up next for the Shipbuilders — Today at home vs. Gardiner, 4 p.m.