St. Hilaire, Leavitt edge Witches

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BREWER – The Leavitt softball team knew very little about its opponent in Thursday evening’s Eastern Maine Class A championship game.

But pitcher Sam St. Hilaire did have one critical bit of information about Brewer, and she used it to her advantage.

The junior lefty struck out 13, walked one and gave up just four hits to lead the Hornets of Turner to a 3-1 victory and the program’s second straight regional title at a sunny, breezy Coffin Field.

“It was exciting,” said Leavitt’s Gretchen Conn, who hit a two-run single. “We didn’t know what to expect so we came with our game-faces on.”

Leavitt will now have a chance to defend its 2002 state championship in Saturday’s final game against Noble of Berwick at Coffin Field. The two teams will play at 11 a.m.

The Witches close out their season with a 15-4 record, while Leavitt – and St. Hilaire – go to 19-0.

St. Hilaire got a tip about Brewer after the Witches played Messalonskee of Oakland in a semifinal Saturday.

“I heard that they were laying off the high pitch against Messalonskee,” she said. “I worked really hard in practice to really get it to move and be more of a strike than out of the zone. My changeup was working, too.”

St. Hilaire struck out six in two innings, then scattered the rest in crucial spots throughout the game. The Witches had just 2.7 strikeouts per game coming into Thursday’s contest.

Brewer had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth but St. Hilaire, who earned the win in last year’s state title game, got two strikeouts to end the inning. The Witches had just two baserunners the rest of the way.

St. Hilaire was 2-for-3 with two singles. She also reached on a fielder’s choice.

Leavitt picked up its first run in the second inning when Alanna Leonard tripled to left and pinch runner Emily Page scored on an Annie Dyer groundout to first. Leonard went 3-for-3 and added a double and a single later.

In the third, Conn hit a single that dropped into left and plated two runs, but both were unearned because of an error at second base as the Witches were trying to turn a double play. The error put runners at second and third for Conn.

“We had our chances and we just didn’t get it done,” Brewer coach Kelly Cookson said. “We made critical errors. They shouldn’t have had those last two runs. We should have had a double play right there.”

Brewer’s defense held up for the rest of the game. Leavitt had runners on third base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but didn’t score again.

The Hornets, who have recorded 14 shutouts this year, weren’t able to shut down the Witches.

Carolyn McAvoy scored Brewer’s run when she tripled to right and was able to get all the way home on an error.

Anna Corey hit a two-out double in the second, but St. Hilaire struck out the final batter of the inning. Christine Thoms and Vanessa Michaud singled for Brewer.

Sophomore DeFilipp (12-2) was steady in the circle. She struck out three, didn’t walk anybody, and held Leavitt’s top five batters to three hits.

Despite Brewer’s trouble executing a double play in the third, the Witches did have one to close the fourth with a runner on third.

HORNETS 3, WITCHES 1

Brewer (15-4) Leavitt (19-0)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Freeman, 2b 4 0 0 0 St. Hilaire, p 3 1 0

DeFilipp, p 3 0 0 0 Pratt, cf 2 0 0

McAvoy, ss 3 1 1 0 K. Healy, c 3 0 0

Thoms, 3b 2 0 1 0 Conn, 1b 3 0 2

b-Doucette 0 0 0 0 Ellis, 2b 3 0 0

McLaughlin, cf 3 0 0 0 Leonard, 3b 3 0

Wing, c 3 0 0 0 a-Page 0 1 0 0

Michaud, dh 3 0 1 0 Dyer, rf 3 0 1

Whalen, lf 0 0 0 0 S. Healy, ss 3 0 0

Corey, rf 3 0 1 0 Burgess, dh 2 1 0

Hanlon, 1b 3 0 0 0 Paladino, lf 0 0 0

Totals 27 1 4 0 Totals 25 3 8 3

a-ran for Leonard in the 2nd; b-ran for Thoms in the 4th

Brewer 000 010 0 ? 1

Leavitt 010 200 x ? 3

E?McAvoy; Ellis 2, S. Healy; LOB?Brewer 6, Leavitt 5; 2B?Corey; Leonard; 3B?McAvoy; Leonard; DP?DeFilipp-Hanlon-Wing; S?Pratt; SB?St. Hilaire

Brewer IP H R ER BB SO

DeFilipp (L,12-2) 6 8 3 1 0 3

Leavitt IP H R ER BB SO

St. Hilaire (W,19-0) 7 4 1 0 1 13

HBP?DeFilipp by St. Hilaire; T?1:06; ATT?150 (est.)