It has been a strong start for the Houlton and Southern Aroostook softball squads as both teams sport undefeated records in the early-goings of the season.
Houlton (4-0) is currently in first place in the Class C North region, while in Class D North, Southern Aroostook (3-0) is in second, Katahdin (2-1) is third, East Grand (2-1) is seventh and Hodgdon (2-3) is ninth.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Mattanawcook 1, Houlton 3 — At Houlton Monday, Houlton’s Tyra Gentle scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning and Makayla Fitzpatrick scored the go-ahead run as Houlton rallied to beat Mattanawcook Academy.
Gentle doubled and stole third on a fake bunt attempt by Fitzpatrick, and when the throw to third went wide of the mark, Gentle was able to scamper home to tie the game at 1-1. The Shires had just three hits in the contest (with Gentle collecting two of them).
Emma Peterson also had an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Houlton’s Kristen Graham tossed a one-hitter, allowing one run and four walks, with six strikeouts.
MA’s Holly McLaughlin pitched the loss. Cheyanne Libby led off the game with a single for the lone Lynx hit and eventually scored.
Fort Fairfield 14, East Grand 0 — At Danforth Monday, the visiting Tigers shut out the home Vikings. Individual results were not reported by presstime.
Houlton 32, Shead 2 — At Eastport Saturday, the Shires rolled to the lopsided victory. Graham threw a two-hitter on just 85 pitches, allowing two runs and two walks, while striking out 10. Graham also drove in five runs on three hits for Houlton.
Aspen Flewelling had three RBIs on three hits, including a pair of triples for the Shires. Molly Schneider, Elizabeth Ward, Gentle and Fitzpatrick all had multiple hits and RBIs.
Ashland 30, Hodgdon 2 — At Hodgdon Friday, Morgan Doughty hit a home run, two doubles and a single to lift Ashland to victory. Caitlin Paradis chipped in with five singles for the Hornets while Whitney Page recorded three singles and a double.
For Hodgdon, Taylor Desrosiers and Tianna McEwen both doubled.
Wisdom 4, East Grand 9 — At Danforth Friday, East Grand picked up the win over Wisdom. Individual game results were not reported.
Katahdin 24, Hodgdon 12 — At Hodgdon Thursday, Courtney Stevens recorded four singles to help the Cougars beat the Hawks. Georgia Landry chipped in with three singles for the Cougars.
Kendra Gresko paced Hodgdon with two doubles and a single. Sydney Crane, Lexi McGuire and Tianna McEwen each contributed a single and a double.
Fort Fairfield 1, Southern Aroostook 8 — At Dyer Brook Thursday, Kylie Vining had two singles, a double and a triple. Kassidy Mathers added three singles, Maddie Cummings had two doubles, and Lily Leavitt chipped in with two singles.
Vining struck out nine inside the pitching circle.
For the Tigers, Autumn Parady, Morgan Towle and Brooklyn McGlaughlin each singled. Sadie Edgecomb pitched the loss, with two strikeouts with one walk for Fort Fairfield.
Houlton 16, Caribou 2 — At Caribou April 27, Graham drove in five runs, with two doubles and a single and threw a four-hitter with nine strikeouts as Houlton bested Caribou. Flewelling tripled and doubled and drove in two runs for the Shires.
Also picking up extra-base hits were Peterson, Ward, Gentle and Fitzpatrick.
Caribou was led by Jaylynn Doody with two singles.
Southern Aroostook 7, Woodland 6 — At Woodland April 27, Vining pitched seven strong innings, striking out out eight to help the Warriors to victory. Mathers, Vining and Marissa Boulier all had singles for SACS.
Shawna Monk paced Woodland (0-3) with two singles and a triple. Shaye Beers chipped in with a triple, single and an RBI while Sophie McDonald doubled twice and drove in two runs. Sadie Smith struck out five.
Washburn 14, Hodgdon 17 — At Hodgdon April 26, Taylor Desrosiers struck out five batters and contributed offensively with two doubles and an RBI to lead the Hawks past Washburn.
Hailey Heath scored the first run of the game for the Hawks off a Tianna McEwen triple. McEwen added a single as well and scored two runs. Grace Graham and Lora Lambert both had a single, a double, and an RBI. Gresko had two singles, an RBI and reached home plate safely three times. Megan Russell also reached home plate safely three times, hit a double and added an RBI. Tabetha Ganzel and Jes Drew both had a single and an RBI. Janelle Goff and McGuire both singled.
Washburn’s (0-1) Liza Durett struck out two and singled for the Beavers. Laina Mette reached home plate safely three times. Samantha Churchill walked three times to score three runs. Emilia Churchill hit three singles and a double, scored two runs, and had two RBI’s. Brittany Corey hit two doubles and a single. Rachel Driscoll added two singles and reached home safely three times. Grace Braley added a single for the Beavers.
East Grand 10, Shead 1 — At Eastport April 26, Beth Lindsey had a two-run, inside-the-park home run and an RBI single to help lead East Grand past Shead. Haleigh Shay added three singles for the winners of Danforth.
For the Tigers, Cierra Seeley and Samantha Wilder each had two singles. Emili Russell had two extra base hits a triple and a home run and had 4 RBI’s, while Kim Stoddard had an RBI double.
Shay had nine strikeouts and kept the Tigers off the bases.
