HAMPDEN, Maine — Senior righthander Danielle Masterson threw an immaculate inning, which consists of striking out three hitters with the minimum of nine pitches, and she wound up with a one-hitter to lead Hampden Academy to an 8-1 Class A Class A softball victory over Brewer on Monday night in Hampden.
The Broncos improved to 3-2 while Brewer slipped to 1-4.
Masterson’s immaculate inning came in the top of the first. She struck out 14 while walking three. The only hit off her was Dani Fenalson’s bunt single with one out in the fifth inning. She had three walks to go with 14 strikeouts, and she threw 95 pitches, 68 of them strikes.
Pivotal play: Junior catcher Allee Wellman’s run-scoring infield hit with one out in the fifth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and keyed a six-run rally that broke the game open. All six runs were unearned.
The Broncos capitalized on a pair of one-out infield errors which eventually put runners on second and third and Wellman grounded a sharp single up the middle that was snared nicely on the backhand by second baseman C.J. Atherton, who prevented a second run from scoring by keeping the ball in the infield.
“I only got one hit tonight but that was the time to get it,” Wellman said.
Later in the inning, a bases-loaded walk to Masterson, Cam Neal’s two-run double down the third base line, a run-producing groundout by Meaghan Delahanty and Callie Small’s RBI single made it 7-1 and HA added another in the sixth.
Neal also had a single and was the game’s lone repeat hitter.
Morgan Downs pitched well in defeat, tossing a five-hitter and allowing just one earned run in her six innings.
Big takeaway: Masterson continues to shine in the circle. The 5-foot-10, Husson University-bound righthander has now allowed only five runs in five games and she tossed a no-hitter on Saturday in a 2-0 loss to Oxford Hills of South Paris.
“I just tried to move the ball around and not get too much of the plate with my pitches,” said Masterson, who overpowered the Brewer hitters.
“She threw extremely well,” Brewer coach Skip Estes said.
Brewer first baseman Josie Pece plays summer travel softball with Masterson and called her “like a mind reader.”
The Broncos also played exceptional team defense behind, highlighted by third baseman Meaghan Delahanty’s terrific barehanded catch on Hannah Reed’s bunt attempt in foul territory.
What’s next: Brewer travels to play Ellsworth at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday while Hampden Academy will entertain Messalonskee of Oakland at 4:15 p.m. Thursday.