PARIS — Shannon Fillebrown likely didn’t wake up Monday thinking she’d make history.

Before the sun set, the Oxford Hills sophomore outfielder did exactly that.

Fillebrown became just the second softball player to hit a home run out of the softball field at the Gouin Athletic Complex, highlighting a nine-run second inning for the Vikings as they defeated Mt. Ararat, 15-3.

“I feel famous,” Fillebrown said after  the game, which was shortened to six innings by the 12-run rule.

The only other Oxford Hills player to hit it out of the park was Courtney Corbett.

“I know of her, but I don’t know her,” said Fillebrown. “She must have been a good hitter. She hit the scoreboard.”

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The Vikings cranked out 17 hits against a Mt. Ararat team it beat 12-7 earlier in the season.

“We struggled last time with waiting on the ball,” first baseman Anna Winslow said. “We sat on it and obviously hit the ball up the middle and forced some errors and ran the bases well.”

Winslow finished with four hits and an RBI while Abby Bernier had three hits and an RBI. Fillebrown had two hits and drove in two while Crystal West also plated a pair with a hit.

“They kind of set some goals for themselves, and they came alive,” Oxford Hills coach Cindy Goddard said. “We almost lost to Mt. Ararat down there.”

West pitched five innings, allowed four hits and struck out six. Haleigh Robinson pitched a no-hit sixth for the Vikings (7-1).

Taylor Pare had two hits for the Eagles (3-5), including a two-run triple.

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The Vikings had a back-and-forth battle with the Eagles earlier in the season, but Oxford Hills was determined to produce a different outcome.

“We’ve busted our butts in practice and have really worked hard,” Winslow said. “We knew they were here to play.”

The Vikings got one run in the first on a hard grounder by Taylor Johnson that was misplayed, allowing Winslow to score.

In the second, Oxford Hills broke the game open. The Vikings slugged five consecutive hits, including an RBI single by Robinson and a two-run double by West. Winslow followed with an RBI single and Johnson drove in a pair with a double. Bernier made it 8-0 with a single.

Fillebrown capped off the inning with her two-run drive over the left field fence.

“I went to swing and I guess I hit it on the sweet spot because I didn’t feel anything,” said Fillebrown, who didn’t know it cleared the fence until she heard the cheers of her teammates. “I didn’t feel hitting the ball at all. It’s probably the furthest I’ve ever hit it.”

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Oxford Hills added a run in the third when Annika Kahkonen tripled and scored on an error.

Mt. Ararat avoided the mercy rule in the fifth when Pare tripled and scored on an error. The Eagles took advantage of two hits and an error.

The Vikings finished the game off in the sixth. Bernier tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Kayleigh Knox singled in a run and scored on a double steal. Then Kahkonen singled in the final run.

kmills@sunjournal.com


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