By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

TURNER – As demoralizing as the top of the first inning was for the Leavitt softball team, the bottom stanza was equally uplifting.

Oxford Hills rattled a young Leavitt squad with two runs in the top of the inning, but the Hornets returned the favor and tied things up in the bottom of the inning.

“That boosted our confidence a lot,” said pitcher Beth Burgess. “I thought without those, I’m not sure we would have won.”

With a fresh start after that harrowing beginning, the Hornets rallied a second time before a Burgess single in the bottom of the seventh delivered Leavitt a 5-4 victory on Monday.

“We lost a couple of tough ones with Messalonskee and Skowhegan that were winnable, but we just didn’t do what we needed to do at the right time,” said Leavitt coach Pete Higgins. “This was a good step today. I’m hoping we can stay in that same direction.”

The Hornets (3-2) are replacing six starters, including starting pitcher Sam St. Hilaire, and have been dealing with some growing pains.

“We’ve been battling a lot with losing Sammy and having a young team,” said Burgess. “We have like two seniors on the team, and it’s my first year pitching at the varsity level. It’s been hard, but it’s been fun.”

The fun part Monday came in the bottom of the seventh when Burgess delivered the game-winner.

With one out, Emily Page singled off the glove of the Oxford Hills third baseman Allyson Snow. A Brittany Gurney sacrifice moved her along. Burgess followed with a single up the middle, scoring Page from second.

“I was trying to aim towards there because I noticed a big hole between left and center,” said Burgess. “I was hoping for a pop up instead of a grounder, but I’m glad it went through.”

Leavitt rallied twice to produce the comeback win. The first rally came in the first after the Vikings (4-2) scored on a Randi Arsenault RBI single and an Annie Foster infield hit that dropped between three Leavitt fielders.

A Vikings error on a routine play put Page on base to start the inning. After Burgess walked, Steph Healy delivered a two-run double.

“We made some crucial mistakes in that first inning,” said Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard. “We got up 2-0. That first play of the inning, we had a lazy play, and it kind of set the tone.”

The Vikings nixed a Leavitt chance in the third to take the lead on a nifty double play where Snow threw to first baseman Jill Cole, who relayed home to Lauren Austin for an out at the plate. Leavitt got a nice unassisted double play from Jess Paladino at second that killed a Viking threat in the fourth.

The teams traded runs in the fifth. Oxford Hills took the lead on a Foster triple, but Leavitt answered with two runs. An error on a pick-off attempt at third scored Heidi Swett, and a Healy double scored Gurney. Oxford Hills tied it in the sixth when Darcy Herrick scored on a Diane Ramsey sacrifice fly and error. The Vikings had runners at second and third but couldn’t take the lead.

“We were hitting very well, but so were they,” said Goddard. “They hit when they needed to. They got the winning run on hits that they deserved.”