Howlers rally late, top Tigers

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HOWLAND – Standing near home plate after Wednesday’s Eastern Maine Class C quarterfinal, Penobscot Valley softball coach David Milton recalled some early season games in which his Howlers had to rally for wins.

That early experience proved beneficial as No. 2 Penobscot Valley came from behind against No. 7 Dexter at Gerald Hutchinson Jr. Softball Field.

The Howlers took advantage of several Tiger errors in the late innings, including a game-ending miscue with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, to pull out a 4-3 victory.

“When I was out on the mound I was like, we’re not losing this,” said PVHS pitcher Casey McCloskey, who struck out nine. “I had no doubt in my mind.”

The Howlers (15-2) move on to Saturday’s semifinals where they will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 3 Stearns of Millinocket and No. 6 Washington Academy of East Machias.

PVHS scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and set up the eighth inning during which Jamie Milton, David Milton’s daughter, scored the winning run.

Jamie Milton had led off the inning on an infield single and moved to second on a passed ball. She then advanced to third when the Tigers committed a fielding error that allowed Morgan Cyr to reach first.

Dexter second baseman Miranda Gove then caught a fly ball for the first out and alertly threw the ball to first baseman Jessica Mason for a double play. Milton remained at third.

The next batter, Kirstie Dawson, hit a routine ground ball to Gove, who only had to throw to first for the final out of the inning. Instead, Gove threw the ball to home, an off-line play that allowed Milton to score the game-winning run.

“I couldn’t see it but I got by [the catcher],” Jamie Milton said.

“It was awesome,” David Milton added. “They did a nice job. It’s hard to come back like that.”

The inconsistent defense was characteristic of the youthful Tigers (14-4), who committed several errors but also recorded two double plays.

“That’s part of the game,” said Dexter coach Galen Chapman. “We’ve only got two seniors and we made a lot of errors during the season. In the seventh inning, that’s what kind of messed us up. But I’m very proud of the girls. They did well and we learn from our mistakes.”

Errors indeed played a role in the seventh but Kelsy Lavertu’s two-out RBI single to drive in pinch runner Katie Whitten sent the game to extra innings.

Lavertu also had an RBI groundout in the third.

“All I wanted them to do was meet the ball,” David Milton said. “[Dexter pitcher Michelle Chapman] was throwing the ball hard enough so that all you had to do was put the ball in play and make something happen.”

McCloskey retired 11 straight in the middle innings, relying on her fastball to keep Dexter’s batters off-balance.

“The umpire was calling a lot of outside pitches and [catcher Lavertu] did an unbelievable job telling me where to throw,” McCloskey said. “It was great.”

Michelle Chapman, Galen Chapman’s daughter, pitched well in the loss, striking out four and walking one. She allowed just one earned run.

She also hit a two-run single in the first inning. The Tigers scored their third run in the fourth inning on Penobscot Valley’s only error.

Mindy Dolley doubled for the Howlers. Dexter’s Becky Johnson singled twice and scored a run in the first.

HOWLERS 4, TIGERS 3

Dexter (14-4) Penobscot Valley (15-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Mason, 1b 4 0 0 0 McCloskey, p 3 1 0

Johnson, cf 3 1 2 0 Thurlow, 1b 3 0 0

Kenney, rf 2 1 0 0 Lavertu, c 4 0 2

Poirier, c 4 0 0 0 Dolley, ss 4 0 0

Chapman, p 4 0 1 2 Milton, 3b 4 1 0

Patterson, pr 0 0 0 0 Cyr, 2b 3 0 0

Conway, ss 3 1 0 0 Drost, cf 4 1 0

Gardner, lf 3 0 1 0 K. Dawson, rf 3 0 0

Stewart, 3b 3 0 0 0 Whitten, pr 0 1 0

Crane, dh 3 0 0 0 Thompson, lf 3 0 0

Gove, 2b 0 0 0 0

Totals 29 3 4 2 Totals 31 4 6 2

Dexter 200 100 00 – 3

Penobscot Valley 001 000 21 – 4

E-Kenney, Conway, Stewart, Gove 2; Dolley; LOB-Dexter 6, Penobscot Valley 7; 2B-Dolley; DP-Poirier-Mason, Gove-Mason; SB-Milton

Dexter IP H R ER BB SO

Chapman (L, 12-4) 8 5 4 1 1 4

Penobscot Valley IP H R ER BB SO

McCloskey (W, 8-0) 8 4 3 3 3 9

PB-Poirier 2; Lavertu; T-1:32; ATT-150 (est.)