OLD TOWN, Maine – It was a very happy 18th birthday for Mattanawcook Academy senior Tayla Trask.
While Trask was swinging the bat like David Ortiz Tuesday afternoon – she was 3-for-4 with two big RBIs – she did her best Houdini impression in the pitching circle, stranding 12 baserunners and striking out 10 as her Lynx from Lincoln edged Old Town 5-4 in a Class B matchup.
As if all that wasn’t enough for Trask, the junior righthander recorded her 500th career strikeout in the second inning and her Lynx improved to 12-2 while also avenging a 4-3 loss.
“Five hundred strikeouts is a personal achievement and it’s a team sport. I’d trade all of them in for a state championship,” said Trask. “All we care about is the win and we got it.”
Trask and her teammates certainly had to work hard for it on a hot and steamy afternoon, as Old Town scattered nine hits and had the tying run at third base and the winning run at second in the bottom of the seventh with one out.
Annie Cashon had singled to cut the lead to 5-4.
But the Lynx buckled down as Trask struck out Micayla Hussey for the second out while Meaghan Cousins grounded out to third to end the game.
“We didn’t get down today, usually when we get behind or they score, we get down and make errors,” said MA catcher Amanda Gulesian. “We stayed up today because we wanted that win. Tayla was achieving her personal goal and we were a team today.”
Both clubs scored a run in the third inning while the Lynx took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth. Gulesian drove in the first with a single while Morgan Mushero plated the other with a groundout to shortstop.
Old Town got one back in the bottom half as Ashley Abbott walked, stole second and eventually came home on Amy Cossar’s grounder to second.
But the big blow came in the top of the fifth, when Trask, who already had two hits on the afternoon, came up with runners on second and third and one out, and launched a deep drive to left-center for a two-run triple.
The pitch was a 1-0 offering from Old Town’s Hannah Morin that appeared to be an inside fastball, but all Trask recalled was churning around the bases.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really know [what the pitch was],” she admitted. “I was just seeing it and hitting it. I was looking at coach and he was waving me around, that’s all I was focused on.”
Coach Lester Cowan’s Coyotes (9-4) had a plethora of chances throughout, but Trask was able to wiggle her way out of trouble, including two bases-loaded jams, while Old Town committed a couple of costly errors.
“They made the plays when they had to, and unfortunately we had a couple drops, but we were still in there with the winning run on second base in the seventh inning,” Cowan said.
Old Town’s offense did swing the bats well against the hard-throwing Trask, with Whitney Leland leading the way with three hits, including a triple, and two runs scored while Cashon had a pair of RBI base hits.
“They’re an amazing team, there’s no break in their lineup,” Trask said. “One through nine they are solid.”
Brooke Hanscom and Brooke Kimball were MA’s other repeat hitters with two singles and a run apiece.
