The East Grand softball team pulled off a key Heal Point victory over top-ranked Hodgdon Wednesday afternoon in what was a busy day for local sports teams. With the 5-3 victory over Hodgdon, East Grand (5-3) jumped all the way up to the No. 3 spot in Class D North, while Hodgdon (9-2) remains the top seed, despite the loss.
Caribou (2-8) also picked up a big win over Houlton (6-3) on the softball diamond, rallying for an 11-9 victory.
In baseball, Shire Pat Howe tossed a one-hitter as Houlton shutout Caribou 11-0 in a five-inning game. Houlton (8-1) has now won eight consecutive games on the season and is ranked fourth in Class C North. Caribou drops to 1-7 on the year.
Also, playing at home for the first time this season Katahdin (8-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 15-5 loss to Stearns (4-4).
Thursday’s full slate of games features: Southern Aroostook baseball/softball at Katahdin, 3:30 p.m.; Fort Kent baseball/softball at Fort Fairfield, 4 p.m.; and Limestone-MSSM baseball/softball at Washburn, 4 p.m.
In tennis, the Fort Kent boys and girls squads travel to Presque Isle for a 3 p.m. match, while Houlton’s boys and girls teams travel to Caribou for a 4 p.m. match.
Thursday also features an Aroostook County Track and Field meet at Presque Isle Middle School, starting at 3:30 p.m.
The following is a recap of games played Wednesday that were reported to the newspaper.
Softball
East Grand 5, Hodgdon 3 — At Hodgdon, East Grand pulled off the upset as Vikings Mallory Gilman and Faith Lindsey both singled twice to help lift their team to victory. Jordyn Cowger also doubled for the Vikings.
Sidney Crane paced Hodgdon with a triple, while Kora Lambert added a double.
Caribou 11, Houlton 9 — At Houlton, Caribou plated three runs in the top of the seventh inning and held off the Shires in the bottom of the seventh to secure the come-from-behind victory. Emily Adler paced Caribou with three hits. Hollie McDougal contributed two more hits.
For Houlton, Aspen Flewelling, Mikayla Fitzpatrick and Tyra Gentle each recorded two hits.
Stearns 19, Katahdin 4 — At Stacyville, Audrey Dunstan compiled three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs. Paige Russell belted two homers and drove in three runs as Stearns (6-2) defeated Katahdin (2-7).
Ashland 6, Madawaska 5 — At Ashland, Shelby Stolz tripled as Ashland (3-4) swept Madawaska (4-2) in a doubleheader. The losses were the first of the year for the Owls. Olivia Tardie and Willow Hall both hit a pair of singles for the Hornets.
Jenna Dugal singled three times for Madawaska.
Ashland 19, Madawaska 9 — In the first game of the doubleheader, Cami Deabay recorded nine strikeouts to lead Ashland to the win. Amber Chasse tripled in two runs and singled twice while Morgan Doughty knocked in three runs with a triple.
For Madawaska, Desiree Belanger singled twice and tripled. Keri Hebert added two singles.
Central Aroostook 16, Washburn 3 — At Washburn, Caitlyn Harris blasted a grand slam to lead the Panthers past Washburn. Keara McCrum and Annika Nicholas both singled twice for CA (4-5).
Kassie Farley hit two singles for Washburn (0-7).
Presque Isle 23, Fort Kent 12 — At Fort Kent, Kayla Saucier’s grand slam in the first inning set the tone for the game as the Wildcats cruised past Fort Kent. Saucier also had two singles for Presque Isle (6-6). Savannah Rodriguez also doubled twice and drove in two runs.
Riley Sibley drove in two runs with a single for Fort Kent (0-7). Jordan O’Leary added an RBI single.
Baseball
Hodgdon 7, East Grand 4 — At Hodgdon, Hawk Andrew Tuttle collected an RBI-double, RBI-single and scored two runs to lead Hodgdon over visiting East Grand. Wyatt Foster singled, scored a run and drove in three runs for the Hawks (7-4).
Trevor Noyes singled twice and scored a run for East Grand (1-6).
Houlton 11, Caribou 0 — At Houlton, Pat Howe tossed a one-hitter while striking out seven as Houlton triumphed in five innings. Nick Botting collected two hits while driving in three runs for the Shiretowners. Thomas Prescott, Cameron Graham, Colby Callnan, Isia Bouchard and Keegan Gentle had two hits apiece for Houlton.
Alex Ezzy singled for Caribou.
Stearns 15, Katahdin 5 — At Stacyville, individual results were not reported.
Ashland 17, Madawaska 3 — At Ashland, Kyle Beaulier laced two triples, a single and collected four RBIs as the Hornets beat the Owls in the first game of a doubleheader. Baily Clark struck out 13 for Ashland (4-4). Drew Doughty added three singles for the winners.
Tristan Cyr, Zach Epstein and Jacob Theriault each had one single for Madawaska.
Ashland 23, Madawaska 2 — The Hornets also won the second game of the doubleheader. Details of this game were not reported.
Central Aroostook 21, Washburn 1 — At Washburn, the visiting Panthers improved to (5-4) with the win. Washburn fell to 0-5. Individual results were not reported.
Presque Isle 10, Fort Kent 9 — At Fort Kent, the Wildcats improved to 6-6 on the season with the one-run win. Fort Kent dropped its record to 3-5 with the loss. Individual results were not reported.
Tennis
Van Buren boys 4, Houlton 1 — At Houlton, the individual results were: in singles, Travis Lebel (VB) defeated Nolan Porter, 8-5; Brandon Sytulek (VB) beat Owen Gallop, 8-1; and Brenton Soucy (VB) bested Devin Ivey 8-2. In doubles, Jaron Gentle and Isaac Vega (H) defeated Luc Perrault and Dominic Belanger, 8-2; and Skyler Paradis and Manny Deschaine (VB) beat Tim Youngfellow and Nate DeLucca, 8-5.
Houlton girls 3, Van Buren 2 — At Houlton, the individual results were: in singles, Rebecca Mooers (H) defeated Erica Ouellette, 8-1; Sydney Lorom (H) beat Lindsey Gendreau, 9-7; and Tiffany Morrow (VB) bested Maddie Grant, 8-4. In doubles, Nadja Messerschmidt and Tessa McCormick (H) defeated Emma LaJoie and Kaila Roy, 8-2; and Emilia Nicknair and Amanda Nicknair (VB) bested Emily Miller and Carolyn Hannigan, 8-5.
