Mountain Valley 8, Winthrop 5

WATERVILLE – Tom Puiia’s sacrifice fly broke a deadlock in the sixth inning, and Garrett McPherson added two key insurance runs with a base hit to lead Mountain Valley to an 8-5 victory over Winthrop in the Mountain Valley Conference baseball championship.

The lead see-sawed with both schools trying to save pitchers for the upcoming state tournament. Winthrop used four pitchers and Mountain Valley had five. No one pitched more than two innings.

After Winthrop tied the game in the sixth at 5-5, the Falconsresponded immediately. Alex Gagnon and Anthony Vitale walked and Connor Blais reached on an error to load the bases with one out. After Puiia launched his fly ball to plate Gagnon, McPherson followed with his second hit of the game to give the Falcons’he three-run cushion.

Puiia finished with three RBIs, while McPherson and Matt Staires had two each.

Jordan Conant led Winthrop with two hits.

Softball Telstar 4, Georges Valley 3

WATERVILLE – T.J. Cowin raced home to beat the throw on Nicena Walker’s infield grounder in the ninth inning to lift Telstar to a 4-3 triumph over unbeaten Georges Valley to win the Mountain Valley Conference softball championship.

The Rebels then survived a major threat in the ninth when Erin Judkins ripped a two-out triple, but Telstar pitcher Candace Hall stranded her there by retiring the final batter on a comebacker to the mound.

Hall outlasted Georges Valley’s Danielle Frye in a masterful duel. Both picthers allowed six hits and neither one walked a batter. Frye finished with 15 strikeouts and Hall fanned six.

In the ninth, Cowin doubled for her second hit of the game and advanced to third on a wild pitch to set up the winning play. Walker had two RBIs for Telstar.

Liz Hall belted a solo home run that tied the game for the Buccaneers in the sixth inning.