By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

AUBURN -Before returning to the batters’ box, Allie Sasser turned and rallied her teammates on the bench.

Maybe she knew her Edward Little softball team was about to have something to cheer.

“It’s important to get the team pumped up,” said the Red Eddies outfielder. “When we’re pumped up, we’re unstoppable.”

That proved true just moments later. Sasser’s line drive in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday proved too hot to handle amidst the cold, wet and sleeting conditions at Lakeview Field. When Lewiston shortstop Jess Nadeau knocked down the ball, but couldn’t control the loose ball to get a throw to the plate, Lyndsey St. Hilaire scampered in with the winning run in a 5-4 victory.

“I was trying to be aggressive after the ball,” said Sasser. “We’ve been trying to do that. I think we all did a good job with that today.”

EL (2-3) had to rally from one-run deficits twice and had to stave of Lewiston (2-3) threats in the final four innings.

“Our defense has gotten us out of a lot of jams,” said EL coach Elaine Keene. “The hitting didn’t come, and it exploded today.”

EL produced nine hits, two each from St. Hilaire and Sam Nickerson. In the eighth, after St. Hilaire beat out an infield hit, Nickerson singled. An error on a Beth Beaulieu bunt loaded the bases for Sasser with no outs.

“They came up with some clutch hits,” said Lewiston coach Fred Royer. “We had a lot of runners stranded on base.”

Lewiston left 13 runners on base, including eight in the last four innings. Amanda Michaud, Allie Morin, Ali Coleman and Ashley Morgan each had two hits.

EL had taken a 4-2 lead on a two-out Christie Sasser two-run single in the fourth. The Blue Devils left the bases loaded in the fifth. In the sixth, Lewiston got one back on a Michaud single. She reached third with one out, but a pop up and a nice scoop by Kate Dargie at first ended that threat. A Maria Labbe double to deep center tied the game, but a relay throw from Christie Sasser pegged her at third for the second out of the inning. A nice play by St. Hilaire and a stretch by Dargie at first got Melissa Lacroix to end the inning.

“That relay was unbelievable,” said Keene. “She got the ball so fast. That could have been another run right there.”

In the eighth, Lewiston loaded the bases, but EL pitcher Katelyn Chamberlain induced a grounder to keep the Blue Devils off the board.

“They proved the last two games that they could play with the best,” said Keene. “We talked before the game that I’m not satisfied with being able to play with the best teams. We’ve got to beat the best. Lewiston is going to be one of the top teams, and we proved today that we can be there too.”

Lewiston had taken a 1-0 in the first on a Kim Bechard single. EL tied it in the bottom of the inning when Ashley Pepin scored on an error on a Chamberlain bunt.

The Blue Devils made it 2-1 in the second on a Michaud RBI triple, but Pepin tied it in the third on a two-out single by St. Hilaire.

“We had a few defensive breakdowns,” said Royer. “I thought we battled back late in the game. It was a good ballgame.”