Pandas strike early 1st inning propels Lee past Warriors

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BREWER – This was one of those times when being the visiting softball team and the first to bat was a good thing.

The fifth-seeded Lee Academy Pandas got into the swing of things early – plating two runs in the top of the first – and never relinquished their lead en route to a 5-2 victory over No. 2 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook on Wednesday evening.

The win improves the Pandas’ record to 16-4, but more importantly it gives them their fourth Eastern Maine Class D softball championship in the last five years and earns them a return trip to Brewer High School’s Coffin Field to take on the West champion in an 11 a.m. state title game Saturday.

“It’s nice being the higher-seeded team coming in, but as far as getting the first at-bat and scoring one or more, that can be big,” said Lee coach Ron Weatherbee. “Course, if we’d been shut out and they scored one, that would have been a different deal.”

It wasn’t a different deal, however, as the Pandas came up with a pair, thanks to Amanda Gifford’s leadoff single, Brooke Harris’ sacrifice bunt, a run-scoring fielding error at third base, and an RBI groundout by Marci Moors.

Moors led the Pandas with two singles and two RBIs.

“It’s a lot easier for us if we can get ahead early, but if you told me we’d have only five runs today, I’d have been a little pessimistic,” said Moors, who did her part by driving a run home in the third with a two-out single to right center.

Lee took out some insurance in the fourth as Kerri Harris reached on an error, went to second on a fielder’s choice, third on another error, and home on a wild pitch. Brooke Harris doubled to right to start the fifth and scored on Aarika Ritchie’s single up the middle.

The Pandas made the Warriors pay for almost every one of their five errors with three unearned runs. The Warriors also ran into a couple of outs on the basepaths.

“Maybe we were just a little over-anxious and aggressive, and we made some mistakes in the field, but we also made some great plays and the girls never gave up,” said coach Robert Betschner, whose Warriors wind up at 14-5. “I don’t think we lost it with our defense. I think they won it with theirs.

Well, that combined with Lee’s timely hitting and the job sophomore pitcher Brooke Harris did on the mound.

Harris (16-4) allowed five hits and one walk while throwing 74 pitches, 48 for strikes. She also had one strikeout.

“I knew they had good hitters all the way through the lineup and I tried to pitch an inside changeup against them because a lot of their girls are big and it’s harder for them to swing when they have to pull in like that,” Harris explained.

She was able to concentrate on her placement as her defense put on a clinic behind her.

“We hit really well in our last game and were thinking we’d score more, but the defense really pulled it out for us today,” said first baseman Gifford, who made an unassisted double play in the seventh in addition to at least three other stellar fielding plays.

The Warriors’ runs came in the third. After Chelsea Collier reached on a fielder’s choice and Kaylea Collier walked, Raya King loaded the bases with a single. Amanda Clark hit an RBI single and Amanda Charette followed with an RBI fielder’s choice.

PANDAS 5, WARRIORS 2

Lee Academy (16-4) So. Aroostook (14-5)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Gifford, 1b 4 2 2 0 K.Collier, ss 2 1 0

B.Harris, p 2 1 1 0 King, 1b 3 0 0

Ritchie, c 4 1 1 1 Clark, cf 3 0 1

Moors, 2b 4 0 2 2 Am.Charette, 3b 3 0 1

Bird, cf 3 0 0 0 Sholler, lf 3 0 0

K.Harris, ss 3 1 0 0 Au.Charette,c 3 0 0

Houghton, 3b 3 0 0 1 King, 2b 2 0 0

Cropley, rf 2 0 0 0 Grant, rf 1 0 0

Arbo, pr 0 0 0 0 B.Charette,rf-2b 3 0

McLaughlin,lf 2 0 0 0 C.Collier, p 2 0

Totals 27 5 6 4 Totals 25 2 5 2

Lee 201 110 0 – 5

So. Aroostook 002 000 0 – 2

E-Gifford; K.Collier 2, Am. Charette 2, King; LOB-Lee 8; So. Aroostook 2; 2B-B. Harris; DP-Gifford (una.); Am. Charette (una.); S-B. Harris; SF-Houghton; SB-Gifford, Cropley

Lee Academy IP H R ER BB SO

B. Harris (W,16-4) 7 5 2 2 1 1

So. Aroostook IP H R ER BB SO

C. Collier (L, 13-5) 7 6 5 2 5 1

WP-C. Collier;PB-Au. Charette; T-1:14; ATT-382