JAY — The Spruce Mountain softball team held a homecoming during the Phoenix’s eight-run nova in the fifth inning on a cloudy, chilly and rainy Friday afternoon.
Just about every Spruce runner who got on base in the fifth came home with a run, allowing the Phoenix to soak Wiscasset with a rain-shortened, six-inning 11-3 victory.
Spruce’s bats sprang to life, with the Phoenix stringing together eight hits to pile up eight runs and shatter Wiscasset’s stubborn defense.
Winning freshman pitcher Hannah Turcotte also helped choreograph Spruce’s first win of the season.
Despite losing control at times and walking eight batters, Turcotte kept at it and struck out nine Wiscasset hitters. She had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the sixth before the Wolverines struck with three runs in the top of the sixth inning.
“Kind of just calming down after a bad pitch,” Turcotte said. “Just working through it. It was kind of chilly so…I am more of a warm weather pitcher so it difficult when the ball is wet. It’s muddy.”
“Hannah is a freshman, and like any freshman, it is a big jump to come into this environment,” Spruce Mountain coach Clint Brooks said. “Throwing strikes is tough, but we have to work on is the BBs (base on balls).
“If you got a team that is deep through the middle, with three, four and five hitters who put the ball in play, you can’t start out every inning with a walk or two because it going to come back and haunt you.”
“She is going to get better…. because she does have the velocity.”
Before the Phoenix showered the Wolverines with eight hits. Spruce got on the board in the second winning when Dalton Morgan got on with a single and scored Emily Castonguay’s hit.
In the fourth, Spruce struck again when outfielder Morgan Dalton got on with a single and scored on shortstop Haley Turcotte’s (two hits) double, giving the Phoenix a slim 2-0 lead.
For the day, first baseman JuJu Doiron, third baseman Hailee Perkins and catcher Allison Acritelli each had two hits. Outfielder Calley Baker doubled and singled twice.
“We mentioned Hailee Perkins, who has played third for four years as a senior now,” Brooks said. “We have been on her all year now. She has been hitting a lot of high balls.
“Today was line drive, line drive and it didn’t all translate into base hits, but eventually it will.”
In the top of sixth, Wiscasset dismantled would-be shutout when Sydnie Thayer and Casey Ferrah were hit by a pitch and Turcotte walked the next two batters to allow the Wolverines to score three runs.
“This was one of our best games of the year,” Wiscasset coach Gordon Campbell said. “In this game, we only got stopped because of the weather.
“Defensively, we played really, really well. We just get some more hits…Like I said, I am really proud of the kids. They worked really hard on defense. They never give up. That’s the bottom line.”
Spruce Mountain’s Hailey Turcotte (7) looks back as she races to first base to see Wiscasset pitcher August Moore catch Turcotte’s pop-up in the first inning of a softball game in Jay on Friday afternoon.
Spruce Mountain’s JuJu Doiron (6) and Wiscasset first baseman Lindsey Gordon keep their eyes on the plate during a softball game in Jay on Friday afternoon.
Winning freshman pitcher Hannah Turcotte delivers a pitch against Wiscassett in a softball game in Jay on Friday afternoon. Turcotte threw a two-hitter in the Phoenix’s 11-3 victory. She also struck out nine batters.
Spruce Mountain’s Paige Hutton (8) slides safely into second base as Wiscasset shortstop Kelsey Thayer tries to get a hold of the ball in a softball game in Jay on Friday afternoon.
Spruce Mountain’s Paige Hutton (8) slides safely into second base as Wiscasset shortstop Kelsey Thayer tries to get a hold of the ball in a softball game in Jay on Thursday afternoon.
Spruce Mountain’s Haley Turcotte (7) looks back as she races to first base to see Wiscasset pitcher August Moore catch Turcotte’s pop-up in the first inning of a softball game in Jay on Thursday afternoon.
Spruce Mountain’s JuJu Doiron (6) and Wiscasset first baseman Lindsey Gordon keep their eyes on the plate during a softball game in Jay on Thursday afternoon.Winning freshman pitcher Hannah Turcotte delivers a pitch against Wiscassett in a softball game in Jay on Thursday afternoon. Turcotte threw a two-hitter in the Phoenix’s 11-3 victory. She also struck out nine batters.
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