NEWPORT – The Nokomis softball team has done a good job this year of breaking its sixth-inning jinx.

In previous years, the Warriors have struggled late in games. But Wednesday, they mounted a 4-run rally in the sixth to earn a 7-4 victory over Old Town at the high school field.

“We always seemed to have a sixth-inning curse about us the past couple of years and in the summer,” said Nokomis senior co-captain Devon Carroll, who went 3-for-3 and scored a run. “But the past couple of games we’ve really been able to come back and capitalize. We can’t let it get to our heads.”

Both teams had to deal with a stiff breeze, cool temperatures and a bumpy outfield that made ground balls tough to play.

The 3-1 Warriors, who have played four games in five days, stranded six baserunners with at least one per inning and had plenty of chances throughout the game.

The Coyote defense kept Nokomis from getting too many runs through the middle innings. Nokomis had a runner called out in the fifth for leaving second base too early – Autumn Slike had cranked a likely double seconds after the field umpire noticed the runner had left early and ran in to call the runner out – and Old Town executed an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

The Warriors finally erupted in the sixth as Tricia Cossar’s two-run single to right sparked the rally and erased Old Town’s 4-3 lead.

Cossar smacked the first pitch she saw down the right-field line to plate Carroll and Danielle White.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking,” said senior co-captain Cossar, who bats ninth in the lineup. “But I knew I had big hitters behind me so I just needed to get people on base and move people around.”

Danielle Grey, who had walked earlier in the inning, eventually scored on when pinch-hitter Jessica Brown drew a bases-loaded walk, while pinch-runner Vanessa Trembly scored for Cossar on a Patrice Cianchette single.

The Warriors had five hits in the inning.

“As hitters our coach is always drilling into us, line drives, line drives,” Carroll said. “That’s what was working for us today, hitting them right over the infield into the outfield.”

Old Town’s Toni Cole hit an inside-the-park home run in the top of the sixth to break a 3-3 tie. Her hit rolled to the fence in deep left-center and she scampered around the bases for home.

Slike doubled and scored on Erin Knight’s RBI groundout for a 1-0 Nokomis lead in the first. Old Town tied it in the second on a Jenna Winegardner single that brought in Cole, who had tripled.

“We’re very young but one thing we can do is hit the ball,” said Old Town coach Lester Cowan. “We’re going to be in a lot of games. I just told the girls, things are starting to come together. We’ve just got to stay with it.”

The Coyotes plated two more runs in the third, executing a double steal that allowed Ashley Goodwin to score and got an RBI single from Devin Levesque.

The Warriors came back in the third for two runs on a Knight RBI double and a Tatum Welch groundout.

Cianchette earned the win, firing eight strikeouts and not giving up any walks.

WARRIORS 7, COYOTES 4

Old Town (0-3) Nokomis (3-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Gammons, 2b 2 0 0 0 Silke, ss 3 2 0

St. Louis, 2b-ss 2 0 0 0 Knight, cf 2 2

Morin, ss-p 4 0 0 0 Brown, ph 0 0 1

Goodwin, 3b 3 1 1 0 Cianchette, p 4 0 1

Wilcox, lf 3 1 1 0 Foster, pr 0 0 0

Levesque, cf 3 0 1 1 Welch, 1b 4 0 1

Cossar, 1b 3 0 0 0 White, 3b 2 0 0

Cole, c 3 2 2 1 Fuller, 3b 1 1 0

Winegardner, rf 3 0 2 1 Moore, lf 2 0

Lynch, pr 0 0 0 0 Carroll, 2b 3 1 0

Campbell, p-2b 3 0 0 0 Grey, rf 1 0

Cossar, c 3 0 2 2

Trembly, pr 0 1 0 0

Totals 29 4 7 3 Totals 25 7 9 7

Old Town 012 001 0 – 4

Nokomis 102 004 x – 7

E-Morin; Welch; LOB-Old Town 5, Nokomis 6; 2B-Goodwin; Silke, Knight; 3B-Cole, Winegardner; HR-Cole (1); DP-Goodwin-Winegardner-St. Louis; SB-Wilcox, Goodwin; Silke 2, Knight

Old Town IP H R ER BB SO

Campbell (L, 0-2) 5 1/3 8 7 7 5 0

Morin 2/3 1 0 0 0 1

Nokomis IP H R ER BB SO

Cianchette (W, 3-1) 7 7 3 3 0 8

T-1:37; ATT-33