She had warmed up a little earlier in the game, and when Edward Little closed the gap with each hit in the seventh, Whitman knew it might be a matter of time before she might be called upon to close out the game.

Sure enough, with the tying run on and a potential winning run coming up, the Oxford Hills junior pitcher stepped to the circle with the game in her hands.

“It’s stressful, but you just have to keep your composure,” Whitman said. “You have to be like, ‘It’s not life or death. It’s just a game,’ but you want to win.”

Whitman faced just two batters in the bottom of the seventh inning and got the final out for a 9-8 KVAC softball win at Auburn Suburban Little League.

The Vikings (4-0) were up by as many as seven runs twice, but EL scored three in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The Red Eddies had the tying run at third and the winner on second when Whitman served up a ground ball to second. Annika Kahkonen closed in on the ball and relayed the throw to Anna Winslow at first for the final out.

“I am beyond proud that they decided they were going to win this game,” EL coach Elaine Derosby said. “It was down to the last out with runners on. We just have to play a little bit better and we have to work harder, but I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Winslow led the Vikings with three hits and an RBI, including a solo homer. Whitman and Cody Akers each had two hits and two RBIs. Madison LeBlond and Shannon Fillebrown each had a pair of hits. Oxford Hills has now scored 45 runs in four games.

“Oxford Hills is a good team,” Derosby said. “Arguably, the best pitcher in our conference (Cony’s Arika Brochu), they scored 17 runs on her. They hit the ball hard and hit the ball well. We decided at the end of the game that we were going to match that.”

Emmy Lashua drove in two runs with two hits and Jordyn Reynolds had a pair of hits and an RBI to lead EL (2-1).

“They kept plugging away and found some spots,” Goddard said. “We made some defensive mistakes. They can always come back and they didn’t roll over. We give them a lot of respect. They kept battling back.”

Akers and Winslow had upped the Vikings lead to 9-2 with solo homers in the fifth and sixth respectively. EL chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Sarah Hammond singled in Lashua. Molly Murray’s fielder’s choice plated Reynolds and Taylor Depot scored on a wild pitch to get EL within 9-5. EL had one hit in that inning but took advantage of two walks and an error.

In the seventh, Calli Murray led off with a single and Grace Beaudet followed with a pinch-hit double.

“I’m proud of them,” Derosby said. “In the past, we might have fought back a little but not enough to give ourselves a chance. People who’ve struggled at the plate came through with some big hits. Grace Beaudet made me look brilliant with that double and that change.”

Calli Murray scored on a Hannan Smith sacrifice fly and Lashua plated another run on a fielder’s choice hit back to Akers. EL was within 9-7. Reynolds and Depot followed with singles. That brought Whitman to the circle from third.

“Looking back at it, we probably should have brought her in in the sixth inning when they started hitting Cody,” Goddard said. “Sometimes it just changes the pace of the game.”

Whitman got two quick strikes on Hammond. Then two fouled pitches followed before Hammond hit a grounder up the middle. LeBlond got to the ball but had to rush a throw. Her throw was low and Hammond was safe while Reynolds scored to make it 9-8. EL then had runners at second and third.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure,” Whitman said. “You just have to compose yourself and pitch.”

She got the final out when Molly Murray hit a grounder that Kahkonen, new to second base, fielded to secure the win.

“This is a game that is a win for the emotional piece,” said Derosby, whose team plays Bangor Thursday. “It’s going to help us in the long run.”

The Vikings opened the early lead when Akers doubled in a run in the second. Then Oxford Hills scored six in the third. Kahkonen singled in a run. She later scored on a wild pitch. Winslow also scored on an error following that wild pitch to make it 4-0.

“A key point was when there were a couple of passed balls and we scored two on one passed ball,” Goddard said. “We’ve been working really hard on good quick baserunning. I think taking those opportunities opened up that door a little bit.”

Whitman followed with a two-run double and then scored on an error on an Akers grounder. That made it 7-0.

EL got two in the fourth when Lashua and Reynolds each had RBI doubles.

Akers had allowed just four hits through the first five innings but EL started to rally in the final two. EL used Hammond, Molly Murray and Kylee Bureau in the circle. The Vikings produced nine hits through the first four innings. Murray and Bureau held them to just five hits over the final three innings.

kmills@sunjournal.com