The Wildcat baseball and softball teams solidified their playoff hopes by sweeping contests against County rivals Caribou and Houlton last week.
The PI softball team improved to 6-3 overall and is in sixth place in the Heal Point standings for Eastern Maine Class B, while the school’s baseball team is now 4-5 and moved up to seventh place in the Heal Point standings for Eastern Maine Class B.
Meanwhile, several of the local Class D teams are also in good position with just a week and a half of the regular season remaining. In softball, Washburn is No. 2 with a 6-2 record, while Ashland is fourth at 6-3 and Fort Fairfield sixth, also with a 6-3 record. Central Aroostook is in 11th place at 3-6.
On the baseball diamond, Fort Fairfield (5-3) and Washburn (6-1) are fourth and fifth, respectively. Ashland, with a 4-5 record, is in 13th. The CA Panthers are in last place, still winless at 0-8. The top 14 softball teams and top 13 baseball teams will make it into the post-season.
Summaries of the latest softball games are as follows:
Ashland 18, Central Aroostook 16
At Ashland last Tuesday, Marissa Chasse and Caitlin Paradis combined for nine hits and nine RBI as the Hornets came back from an early 10-1 deficit to prevail. Chasse had five hits and Paradis contributed four. Ally Beaulier added three more as part of the 21-hit attack.
Sheratin Kelly singled four times for the Panthers and Megan King drilled a two-run homer.
Presque Isle 7, Caribou 1
The Vikings outhit the host Wildcats last Tuesday, 4-3, but fell short in the run column. Caribou committed five errors as PI jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings and never looked back.
Jordi Legassie had a double and a single and drove in a run for the Wildcats. Carly Bell recorded the pitching win.
Rachel Soucy knocked in the Vikings’ only run with a third-inning single.
Ashland 20, Madawaska 7
Owl pitchers walked 16 batters during a game in which they held the lead in the middle innings last Wednesday. Beaulier had three hits, Cassidy Pelletier notched a three-run double and Jaci Deabay doubled and singled for the Hornets.
Limestone 15, Fort Fairfield 0
The Eagle offense erupted for 15 hits and the pitching and defense held the Tigers off the scoreboard in the rout at Fort Fairfield last Wednesday.
Melissa Cantafio had a pair of doubles and Madeline Williams also had two hits for the winners.
Taylor Churchill and Janae Libby each singled for the Tigers for their only hits in the game.
Presque Isle 17, Houlton 8
The Wildcats scored six times in the top of the fourth to turn a 4-2 deficit into a lead they would hold onto. Erin Ackerson had four RBI on a pair of hits to lead the winning offense in the game played Thursday in Houlton.
Washburn 17, Fort Fairfield 6
On Thursday in Washburn, the Beavers plated three runs in each of the first two innings and went on the defeat the Tigers to avenge one of their two losses.
Carmen Bragg drove in a pair of runs on a double and a single and Hannah Heald also had two hits for the Beavers. Liza Durette garnered the pitching victory.
Fort Fairfield 13, Southern Aroostook 5
The Tigers rebounded the following afternoon as Jordann Coiley went the distance on the mound, striking out eight batters, and helped her own cause with three singles. Logan Bubar, Sarah Watt and Alyssa Dougherty contributed three hits each for FF.
Fort Fairfield 13, Central Aroostook 5
Fort Fairfield wrapped up its busy stretch Saturday by stopping Central Aroostook. Coiley again was one of the hitting stars with a double and three RBI. Bubar also doubled in a run.
Karli Levesque and Megan King had two hits each for the Panthers.
Summaries of baseball games played since last Tuesday follow:
Presque Isle 6, Caribou 3
Saul Nunez smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning to lift PI past Caribou last Tuesday in Presque Isle.
Andrew Paterson was credited with the pitching win by going all seven innings and scattering six hits while striking out seven.
Matt Manter doubled and had a pair of RBIs for Caribou and Mason Huck had a run-scoring single. Brayden Burby was handed the pitching loss.
Ashland 16, Central Aroostook 6
Tyler Chasse was the hitting star as the Hornets broke out for big scoring rallies in the fourth and fifth innngs to win the home game played last Tuesday.
Chasse had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in three runs. His team trailed 4-2 before scoring six times in the fourth and adding eight more runs in the fifth to end it with the 10-run rule.
Ben Vaughan pitched a four-hitter and got the win on the mound. Cory Richardson’s two hits led the Panthers.
Limestone 14, Fort Fairfield 10
The Eagles bounced back from its first loss by scoring six times in the top of the seventh inning for the comeback victory last Wednesday in Fort Fairfield.
Chris Bernier had four hits for Limestone-MSSM, while Griffin Robles tripled and doubled for the Tigers.
Washburn 17, Central Aroostook 11
Also last Wednesday, the Beavers prevented CA from winning its first game of the season behind a 15-hit effort. Carter Doak led the way with four singles.
Cory Richardson banged out four hits for the Panthers.
Fort Fairfield 14, Southern Aroostook 13
Ryan Pelkey stole home for the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Tigers handed SA its only loss of the year.
Ryan Player doubled and singled twice, while Robles knocked in four runs with a double and a single.
Parker Walker had three hits for the Warriors.
Fort Fairfield 10, Central Aroostook 0
The Tigers blanked the Panthers Saturday, with the game ending on Josh Ricker’s fifth-inning RBI single that activated the 10-run rule. Robles stayed hot with a triple and Carter Bruce drove in four runs for the Tigers. Jon Bernard and Bruce combined on the pitching shutout.
