Bangor High School senior center fielder Ashley Schultz knew Old Town’s Natalie Fournier would be trying to score from third on a one-out fly to try to tie the game in their Thursday afternoon softball game at the Bangor High School field.
Schultz was ready, and her throw found catcher Emmie Streams’ glove on the fly. Streams applied the tag and Bangor escaped with a 9-8 win in a game that they led 8-2 after the first inning.
Fournier had reached on an infield throwing error, moved to second on a groundout and to third on a wild pitch.
“I knew there was one out and she was going to run. It was a high-hit ball so I knew I had to get under it and be ready to throw as soon as I could,” Schultz said. “It was a good throw, it was kind of a shorter throw because it was just on the outfield so I knew I had the range to get it there.”
Streams called it a “picture perfect” throw.
Schultz had scored what proved to be the winning run on Bangor sophomore right fielder and first-year starter Eva Coombs’ clutch two-out opposite field single to right in the sixth.
Schultz led off the inning by legging out an infield single and she moved to second on a groundout before racing home on Coombs’ sharp line-drive single.
“I just went up there and tried to get a hit so we could win,” Coombs said.
“Even though Eva is a sophomore and it’s her first year on the varsity, she would be one of the people I would want up there at that time,” Streams said.
It was Coombs’ second hit of the game in Bangor’s home opener.
Class A Bangor and Class B Old Town are now both 2-1.
Emily Wheeler’s base hit, Saige Evans’ run-scoring double and Danica Brown’s sacrifice fly staked Old Town to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
But Bangor answered with eight runs in the bottom of the first.
All of the runs were unearned and all came after there were two outs.
Cassidy Ireland reached on a dropped infield popup with one out and, one out later, the speedy Schultz beat out an infield single. Taylor Coombs, Eva’s sister, walked to load the bases.
Cassidy Richardson cleared the bases with a ringing double.
Eva Coombs reached on an infield single and Richardson scored on a double steal with Coombs.
Gabby Goding and Emma Kennedy walked, a wild pitch delivered a run and Streams doubled in a run before Ireland doubled home a pair.
But the gritty Coyotes began their rally with a run in the second on Lizzy Magoon’s RBI fielder’s choice and pushed across three more in the third on Evans’ single, Gabby Cote’s double, two walks and Ava Brasslett’s two-run single off the leg of Bangor starter Raegan Sprague’s leg.
Another walk later, Sprague was replaced by Carter, who pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
Old Town made it 8-7 in the fifth as Alexis Degrasse singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch and the visitors tied it in the sixth when Evans walked, went to second on a groundout and alertly scored on the throw to the infield on Brown’s base hit.
“It was a good game. It showed that we can be down at the start but can come back, which is good,” Evans said.
Carter pitched 4 ⅔ innings of impressive two-hit, two-run relief to earn the win. She struck out two and walked three.
Old Town freshman Haley Sirois also turned in a relief gem as she threw five strong innings of five-hit, one-run ball with four strikeouts and just one walk.
Streams had two singles to go with her double. Schultz and Eva Coombs had two singles each.
Evans was Old Town’s only repeat hitter with a double and a single. She also drew a walk.
Next, Bangor will travel to Brunswick for a 4 p.m. game on Friday while Old Town will host Foxcroft Academy on Saturday at noon.