SOUTH PARIS – When Chelsea Arbour stepped to the plate in the sixth inning Friday, she knew it was time to make something happen.

Her Cony Rams were down by a run and running out of outs. After having her team’s only hit in the first five innings, the senior second baseman brought some confidence to the plate and watched it become contagious.

“I knew we had to score a run and had to get it started,” said Arbour. “For us, once somebody gets going the rest of us just kind of follow. That’s what we did today.”

Her lead-off single sparked a three-run inning to help the Rams rally to beat Oxford Hills 3-1.

Cony (7-0) was ranked No. 1 in the latest Eastern A standings while Oxford Hills (6-1) was ranked second.

“It was probably our biggest competition so far this season,” said Arbour. “We knew they were going to be prepared, and we knew we had to come prepared.”

The Vikings got a fine pitching performance from Kristy Jurczak. She allowed three hits – just one through the first five innings – while striking out four and walking just one and hitting her spots nicely. In the sixth, three Viking errors didn’t help her cause.

“She pitched well,” said Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard. “She did a great job today. Up until that sixth inning, I thought it was a good game. We were going back and forth and people were making plays. Then it’s always the team that makes more errors in the end.”

After Arbour led off with a single, the Vikings got the first out. Suzannah Deeves reached on a bunt hit. Morgan Cloutier’s pop up was then dropped as numerous Vikings failed to catch it, allowing Arbour to tie the game. Abby Jones followed with a squeeze bunt. Deeves came racing home but was safe when the ball was dropped in an attempt to tag her.

“We made the errors that helped them,” said Goddard. “I thought that bunt was a nice play. It was a gamble, but it worked out in their favor.”

The third run came in when a grounder by Emily Soule was misplayed, allowing Jones to score.

“We’ve got some confidence at the plate,” said Gaslin. “The last few games we scored quite a few runs. We got the short game going today. We were hitting the ball pretty well, but it was right at them. This field is elevated, and I think the ball stays up in the air longer. So we thought we had to go on the ground with it.”

Mika Wilson started the game for Cony, allowing five hits and one run in four innings. Jasmine Trott came on in the fifth and didn’t allow a hit. Only two Vikings reached base in the final three innings. Jurczak walked in the fifth, and Brooke Ladd reached on an error in the seventh.

“She had her drop ball working really well and her change too,” said Gaslin. “She was working the pitches real well and mixed up the pitches.”

The Vikings took the lead in the fourth. Megan Gauger singled to start the inning. With two outs, Breanna Martin singled off the glove of Jones, the Cony shortstop. Gauger scored and Martin took third on an error but was stranded.

“It was good to see that we could stay with them,” said Goddard. “We’ve given up runs in almost every game, but it hasn’t been with the bases loaded or in a 2-1 game. That makes a difference.”