CORINTH, Maine — By its score, Saturday afternoon’s high school softball contest pitting Class B Hermon against Class C Central was a resounding victory for the visiting Hawks.

Hermon downed the Red Devils 16-1 in a game halted after five innings due to the 12-run rule, but both sides were able to take something positive from the game.

“Hermon is a good team. We knew they would be tough,” said Central coach Durice Washburn.

“Central has played us tough in the past, so we got the kids ready [for them],” said Hawks coach Steph Biberstein.

Hermon (6-1) responded quickly by scoring six runs in the first inning as the Hawks sent 10 batters to the plate and the first seven reached base. Pitcher Karli Theberge helped herself with a two-run single and second baseman Alessa Oakes added an RBI single.

The Red Devils (3-5) were unable to string together a similar offensive success, but Washburn liked her team’s attitude.

“I was satisfied with my players’ performance,” she said. “They didn’t give up. They kept playing hard.”

After Hermon added a run in the second on Syd Addessi’s RBI single, the Red Devils tallied their run when Tasha Miller reached on an error, moved to second on a fielder’s choice and scored on Cheyenne Edgerly’s two-out RBI single.

Hermon held the Red Devils in check after that, never allowing them more than four batters in any of the last three innings.

Oakes continued her strong offensive day as she banged a solo home run over the center field fence to lead off the third inning, her first of the year, and added an RBI ground-rule double in the fourth.

“I’ve been struggling for a while,” said Oakes. “This was the first game I got consistent hits.”

Kristen Wilcox followed Oakes’ double with a three-run homer as the Hawks scored six more runs, all with two out, to take a 14-1 lead.

In the fifth, a sacrifice fly by Wilcox and an RBI single by Kivler concluded the scoring.

Shannon Graves added three singles for Hermon, and Shaniah Haskell, Addessi and Kivler added a pair of singles each.

Theberge tossed a four-hitter, striking out four and walking no one, to pick up the win.

Edgerly posted two singles for the Class C Red Devils.

Starter Becca Kelley and reliever Konnar Kirlin shared circle duties for Central. Kelley struck out five and walked four, and Kirlin walked two.

“There are still things we have to work on,” said Central’s Washburn. “We have to find the right mix on the field. We’re quite young and it’s a learning process.

“Sometimes you have to take your lumps, learn from them and get better from there.”

While the Hawks continue to win, Biberstein is hoping not to repeat last week.

“We only had nine healthy players [Saturday],” she said of flu issues and minor leg injuries. “We had to move kids around, but I’m proud of their perseverance. They kept the attack going through the whole game.”