Ashland girls, FF boys strong on field
The Ashland softball team and the Fort Fairfield baseball team continued their solid regular seasons and have put themselves in good position for the upcoming playoffs.
The Hornets won two of three last week and are at 7-4 in the Class D North Heal Point standings, good for seventh place, while the Tiger boys all the way up to the No. 1 slot in the Class D North region.
In softball, the Hornets began their big week with a 17-5 win over Fort Kent last Tuesday. What followed was a 12-11 heartbreaking loss to Madawaska before Monday’s 10-9 decision over the Washburn Beavers.
Laura Sturgeon’s three-run triple was the big blow in the win at Fort Kent. Caitlin Paradis had four hits and scored four runs.
Ashland trailed Madawaska by four runs before taking the lead with a rally in the top of the seventh, but the Owls scored twice in their half to come out on top. Doughty’s two singles led the Hornets offensively.
Amber Chasse delivered the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the seventh, capping a two-run rally the put Ashland past Washburn. Sturgeon had another big day at the plate with a home run, two singles and three RBI. Kassandra Farley delivered a two-run single for Washburn in the loss.
On the baseball field, the Tigers’ impressive run saw them outscore their opponents by a 62-5 margin. Included was an 11-1 win over LCS/MSSM last Tuesday, a 10-3 triumph Friday over Central Aroostook, a 12-1 victory over East Grand/GHCA Saturday and Monday’s 29-0 blitz over Madawaska. Three of the four games were played at home.
Jared Harvey, Carter Bruce and Jon Bernard handled a bulk of the pitching duties and surrendered very few scoring opportunities. Bernard tossed a no-hitter against the Owls in the latest win.
Several contributed offensively during the stretch. Isaac Cyr had three singles and four RBI against the Eagles, Ryan Player had two hits and three RBI and Dalton Cassidy scored four times against CA, Malcolm Langner and Bernard stroked two singles each and both knocked in a pair of runs against East Grand/GHCA and Player collected five hits against the Owls.
The PI softball team had been idle since its 15-2 victory over Caribou May 12 that extended its winning streak to seven games. The Wildcats hosted Houlton Tuesday night and have a busy stretch coming up with two home games against Foxcroft Academy Saturday and single games against Fort Kent Monday and Caribou next Wednesday. The team is currently in 11th place in Class B North.
The Wildcat baseball squad has had the same quiet stretch and with its 4-7 record and 15th-place ranking faces the same crucial upcoming game schedule. Houlton and Foxcroft are the opponents in the next three games and at least a pair of wins are most likely needed for the team to get back into playoff contention.
The Washburn Beavers’ baseball team beat Central Aroostook, LCS/MSSM and Ashland last week to improve to 7-2 and move into fourth place in Class D. Jarrett Olson slammed two doubles and a single, McCall Turner ripped a triple and a double and Caleb Thompson notched three singles in the most recent win, which came Monday at Ashland.
The Hornet squad prevailed in two contests and lost its other two. A 4-6 record has the team in ninth place.
Central Aroostook’s baseball team is at 5-5 and in 10th place. The Panthers lost three of four last week. The lone win was by an 18-7 score and came against Madawaska Thursday.
The FF softball team had a winless week, falling to East Grand/GHCA and Madawaska in addition to last Tuesday’s loss to LCS/MSSM, while the Washburn girls are still searching for their first win following the close loss at Ashland.
