OLD TOWN, Maine — The Hermon High School softball team ruined Old Town’s undefeated season a year ago during the Eastern Maine Class B semifinals.
The Hawks again dropped the Coyotes from the ranks of the undefeated on Wednesday, but this time it was the regular-season finale. Senior third baseman Kylie Kennedy’s two-run homer in the fifth inning capped a three-run rally that gave the Hawks a 5-3 triumph.
Hermon (14-2) posted its 12th straight and also avenged one of its two losses, 4-1 on May 5. Old Town wound up 15-1.
Junior lefty Karli Theberge went the distance for the win, scattering eight hits. She struck out three, didn’t walk anyone and was aided by two double plays in which runners were thrown out at the plate.
Only one of the runs off her was earned.
Old Town senior righty Rachel Martin also pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits and striking out six while walking two. She surrendered just one earned run as her mates made five errors behind her.
“Errors killed us,” said Old Town coach Jenn Plourde. “I’ve never seen us play like this before and they capitalized on it. You can’t make a lot of errors against a team like that.”
A two-base throwing error by the third baseman on Lexey MacManus’ grounder started Hermon’s decisive fifth-inning rally and Claire Petersen beat out a bunt single and then stole second.
Theberge bounced back to Martin, who checked MacManus at third and threw to first for the out. But MacManus broke for the plate and beat the return throw.
One out later, Kennedy launched a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field for her third homer of the season.
“I hit a changeup,” said Kennedy. “She has a good changeup but I was ready to adjust to it and hit it. It was waist-high and a little outside and I turned on it a little bit. You know a great hit because you don’t feel it (coming off the bat) and that’s what it felt like.”
Martin shouldered the blame for the homer.
“I didn’t place it well. I didn’t hit my spot. It was more over the middle (than I wanted it to be),” she said.
The Coyotes mounted a rally in the seventh when Kayla Hayward singled sharply to left and raced to third when Lauren Martin looped a single just inside the right-field line and took second on the throw to third.
But Michaela Milton was instructed to bunt and it turned into a 1-4-2 double play when Theberge threw to second baseman Petersen covering first and Petersen threw to catcher Hailey Perry.
Brittany Cousins then drilled a long RBI double to left-center, but Theberge induced a game-ending popup.
Hermon had turned a 3-4-2 double play to end the second inning.
“Those double plays at the plate were definitely what we needed,” said Theberge. “Old Town is a good team. They get the bat on the ball. I mixed up my pitches. I used my drop and screwball a lot. And the defense definitely backed me up today.”
“(Theberge) threw real well and they played real good defense. They really timed me up today,” said Martin, who struck out 15 in the earlier win over Hermon. “I didn’t throw my best.”
Perry singled in a first-inning run for the Hawks but Old Town took a 2-1 lead in the second when Lauren Gasaway walloped her first homer of the season, a shot to left center. Mikayla Richards singled, moved to third on a double error on the shortstop and scored on Lauren Martin’s bunt.
Hermon tied it in the fourth on an infield error, a fielder’s choice and Emily Perley’s RBI ground-ball single to center.
Petersen and Perley were Hermon’s repeat hitters with two singles apiece.
Cousins had two doubles and a single for Old Town and Richards doubled and singled.