OLD TOWN, Maine — They’ve been struggling at the plate lately, but perhaps the Old Town High School softball team is coming out of its recent offensive funk.
The Coyotes hit the cover off of the ball Tuesday afternoon, breaking out for 10 runs and 14 hits en route to a 10-6 Class B victory over Bucksport at the high school field.
Not to be outdone, coach Lester Cowan also got a fine performance from his defense and sophomore pitcher McKayla Gastia.
Gastia was efficient in picking up the win while Old Town played error-free ball and turned a couple of double plays.
“We had a great offensive game and our defensive game was really strong,” said senior left fielder Sarah Wilcox, who went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.
“We came back from a couple of hard games but I think we did really well today, both offensively and defensively,” added Wilcox.
The Coyotes, who improved to 5-2, got on the board first with a four-run uprising in the third, with Wilcox driving in one run with a single and Hilary Campbell slamming a two-run double down the right-field line.
Bucksport coach Mike Carrier was relegated to his dugout for the rest of the game during that half-inning after disputing a call with the umpires, in which he thought an Old Town base-runner was picked off at third base.
“I just said, ‘I could see it from here,’ that’s all,” he said.
His club certainly didn’t fold its tent as the Golden Bucks scored three times in the top of the fourth, keyed by Kaitlynn Williams’ two-run triple to right.
But Old Town opened the floodgates with a five-run fourth, sending nine batters to the plate.
Wilcox drove in two of the runs with a single to center while Amy Cossar hit a bases-loaded double off the center-field fence, scoring all three runners.
“I think this is the first time [all season] we’ve hit like that,” said Wilcox. “I think it sets the standard for the rest of the season, now that we know that we can hit, we better hit each game.”
Even though the Coyotes were due for an offensive breakout, it was the defense that had Cowan smiling the most.
“And that’s what we concentrated on [Monday] in practice was defense. We had a situational practice [Monday] and it showed today,” he said.
That was most evident in the top of the sixth, in which Bucksport, trailing 9-6 at the time, looked poised for a rally with the bases loaded and one out.
But freshman shortstop Ashley England made a sensational catch on a line drive hit by the Bucks’ Meagan Harriman, and she flipped to classmate Katelynn Ouellette at third to complete the double play and end that threat.
“We played really good defensively,” said Campbell. “I definitely think this’ll bring up our confidence.”
Gastia, who scattered six runs on five hits in improving her record to 2-1, set Bucksport down in order in the seventh after Campbell singled and scored on an error in the sixth for the game’s final run.
Campbell and Wilcox were two of five Coyotes who had multiple-hit games. Gastia aided her cause with a couple of singles and a run scored while Amy Singer singled and scored a pair of runs. Wilcox also scored twice while Micayla Hussey went 2-for-5 with two runs.
Sarah Sutherland doubled and scored on Emily Lenor’s single in the fifth inning for Bucksport (4-3). Catie Denning plated a run on a groundout to second in the fourth.
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BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN
Old Town’s softball players, including Sarah Wilcox (10) celebrate after the Coyotes turned a double play to end the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game against Bucksport. Old Town won 10-6.
