Andy Valley catcher Ella Gibbons tags out Auburn’s Chloe Leblanc at home. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

AUBURN — Auburn battled with Andy Valley and on the back of a couple of big innings at the plate and a strong pitching performance from Chloe Leblanc was able Sunday to take home the 12U Maine softball championship. 

Leblanc recorded six strikeouts in the first two innings, ending the game with 13. 

“I think it was pretty good,” Leblanc said of her performance. “The other team did really good with their hitting. The fielding for us was amazing and I think I had good confidence out there.”

For Auburn coach Mary-Beth Galway, she knew she could rely on Leblanc from the circle. 

“Chloe, I’ve had her all season and I’ll tell you that she’s a beast when it comes to competition,” Galway said. “She thrives on that and she just gets tougher and tougher the further in the game we go. She was solid on the mound.”

Auburn left three batters on base over the first two innings but in the third finally got some runners home. 

Hayleigh Merrill singled to start the inning, followed by a walk from Jillian Leblanc. Both runners got into scoring position and with one out Chloe Leblanc singled and drove home Merrill to help herself out with a 1-0 lead. 

Next up was Emily Poulin, who singled into left-center field and scored Jillian Leblanc, putting Auburn ahead 2-0. 

“This group has been together since 8U,” Galway said. “So, they have been playing Auburn All-Stars together, travel ball together and they’ve gelled and it showed today. They did the little things to win a championship.”

Auburn players celebrate after the final out of Sunday’s 12U championship Babe Ruth Softball championship game against Andy Valley. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

In the fourth inning, Auburn’s Adeline Langan, Jayda Clark and Ellie Porter loaded the bases with no outs. 

Caroline Bosse drove home Langan on a single to put Auburn up 3-0. Three batters later, Elizabeth Galway singled and scored two more for Auburn, which had a 5-0 lead. 

Chloe Leblanc struck out two more in the fifth inning, but gave up a single and then a run to Sophia Aube, making it 5-1. 

Auburn scored again in the bottom of the fifth inning when Porter drove in a run with the bases loaded to make it 6-1. 

Phoebe Paradis singled to score Taylor Farrell in the top of the sixth to cut Andy Valley’s deficit to 6-2, but Chloe Leblanc was able to finish the game and Auburn’s undefeated run through the tournament. 

“It felt really good,” Galway said. “I told the girls I wanted to get this done in one. I didn’t want to lose a game, I wanted to go into this not worrying about playing another game and they listened.”

Andy Valley never quit.

“They grind when they need to grind and make plays when they need to,” Andy Valley coach Elizabeth Merrill said. “They did their jobs individually and as a team. They have a lot of personality and that comes out and it’s nice to see. It’s a great group of softball players and same with Auburn.”