RUMFORD — Small ball led to big results Friday for Mountain Valley.

“We changed our lineup,” Mountain Valley coach Lisa Russell said. “That’s what we wanted to try because we needed to score some runs after a tough loss (Thursday) at Hall-Dale.”

The Falcons bounced back and used the bunt game to its benefit in a 7-4 win over Spruce Mountain.

Mountain Valley (9-4) built a 7-1 lead and held off a late charge by the Phoenix to bolster its standing in Western C. The Falcons are ranked sixth in the latest Heal Point standings.

Spruce Mountain (5-6) came up short in its hopes to keep its playoff hopes alive.

“I’m certainly pleased that we showed some fight,” Spruce Mountain coach Gavin Kane said. “We certainly knew the importance of this weekend. Going against Mountain Valley today and against Dirigo (Saturday), we came in knowing that we needed at least one win to keep ourselves in the hunt for a playoff spot.”

Karen Flaherty led the Falcons with three hits and two RBI. Two of those hits were bunt hits that plated runs. Katie Collette had a hit and drove in a pair. Spruce got three hits from Ladesta Tracy, including a pair of doubles.

The Phoenix had the bases load in the seventh with a chance to tie but Mountain Valley junior pitcher Lindsay Marston managed to escape the jam with a pop out and a strike out.

“I’ve played in championship games so the pressure didn’t really bother me,” Marston said. “You just have to stay focused.”

Marston allowed just five hits and struck out eight. Emily Keene scattered seven hits. Though Spruce got some nice plays in the field including a diving catch by Destiny White in left. It was the bunt defense that ultimately cost the Phoenix.

“I thought Emily pitched well for us,” Kane said. “We made some good plays in the field. Our Achilles heel was probably the ability to handle the bunt situation several times.”

The Falcons were coming off a 3-2 loss against Hall-Dale on Thursday, and they were looking for a way to bounce back. Shaking up the lineup was the solution. 

“We lined it up to make sure that we could bunt,” said Russell, who co-coaches along with Deb Buotte and Gary Dolloff. “We wanted quick people in a row so we could move. We have a fast team and they can run the bases.”

The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the third when Flaherty scored on a sacrifice fly by Collette. White had made a diving catch in left, but Flaherty managed to score.

Spruce Mountain tied the game in the fourth. An Emily Hogan bunt scored Ladesta Tracy. In the bottom of the inning, the Falcons made it 3-1. After Sydney Petrie doubled, she later came in on a Flaherty bunt that the Phoenix struggled to play. Then Aly Carlton followed with a bunt of her own that plated Emily Laubauskas.

Mountain Valley opened up the lead in the sixth, taking advantage of four Spruce Mountain errors and two hits. Another Flaherty bunt scored a run. Collette followed with an RBI single. Then errors on a Marston fielder’s choice allowed Shannon Laubauskas and Collette to score for the 7-1 lead.

Spruce Mountain didn’t get a hit until the fourth when Tracy and Hayley Doyen each singled. The Phoenix stranded one and then left another two on in the sixth after Keene walked and Tracy doubled to put runners in scoring position. Marston got an out at first and a pair of strike outs to end the inning.

In the seventh, the Phoenix rallied and took advantage of four Falcon errors.  An error on a Grace Ryan hit scored Alex Bessey. Then an error on a Keene single plated Ryan. The Phoenix loaded the bases with just one out, but Marston settled in to finish the job.

At one point, the entire infield came to the pitcher’s circle to settle themselves down.

“They just tried to calm me down and pump each other up to get the last out,” Marston said.

Marston then summoned up a pop up to Collette behind the plate and struck out the last hitter for the final out.

kmills@sunjournal.com