DIXFIELD — In addition to good pitch selection, one thing Dirigo’s Katelyn Olsen needed in the pitcher’s circle Wednesday was a selective memory.

When Mountain Valley’s Aly Carlton drilled an Olsen offering over the fence during the first at-bat of the game, the Cougars hurler knew she needed to forget that in a hurry.

“It was just the top of the game,” Olsen said. “I knew I had to let it go. That’s been our motto all year — you just have to let whatever go and start fresh from there.”

Olsen hit the reset button and only allowed three more hits as Dirigo rallied for a 5-2 win over the Falcons at Marble Park.

In addition to a battle between rivals, it was also a showdown between two of the top teams in Western C. Dirigo (11-4) moved into third with the win while Mountain Valley (10-5) is fourth.

“Every game is a big game,” said Ellen Wainright, who had two hits and drove in a pair to pace the Dirigo offense. “We hope to have a home playoff game. We’ve just got to keep it one game at a time and one inning at a time.”

Carlton finished with two hits and nearly hit a second home run, but it went foul. Kasey Smith and Karissa Murphy had the only other hits for the Falcons, who stranded seven. Olsen struck out five and walked just three.

“I just had to fight back,” said Olsen, a sophomore pitcher. “I had to stay strong. I knew what I had done pitching-wise and why that happened. I didn’t let it happen again. I just did what I needed to do.”

In addition to Wainright, the Cougars got two hits and an RBI from Olsen and a pair of doubles from Emma Lueders. Mountain Valley pitcher Lindsay Marston scattered six hits, but the Cougars got some clutch at-bats and some aggressive baserunning.

“I think that over the season, we’ve started to develop a little bit of confidence and better pitch selection,” Dirigo coach Sara Thurston said. “The more consistency we have, the better at-bats we have.”

Carlton had a full count in the first at-bat of the game and drilled a shot over the left field fence. After the first out, Katie Collette made Olsen work. She fouled off half a dozen pitches and forced Olsen to throw pitches in the double digits before drawing a walk. Olsen was able to get a force and a strikeout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first,  Dirigo tied it. Lueders led off with a double. After Olsen reached on a bunt hit, Lauren Henderson’s flyout scored Lueders.

In the third, Carlton hit one deep to left again but it curved to the left of the foul pole. Mountain Valley argued that it was fair but lost that battle.

“After that missed call on the home run, we kind of lost momentum a little bit,” Mountain Valley co-coach Deb Buotte said.

When Mountain Valley took the field in the bottom of the inning, the Falcons looked deflated.

“The kids fizzled,” co-coach Lisa Russell said. “They were just disappointed.”

Dirigo scored four runs on three hits in that inning to build a 4-1 lead. Destiny Newton led off with a walk. Lueders followed with another double. Olsen drove in Newton with a single for the lead. After Henderson walked and a pop out, Wainright belted a two-run single.

“I knew not to dip my shoulder,” said Wainright, a junior pitcher who was the designated player Wednesday. “That’s what I did in the first inning. I knew what I did wrong. She threw two strikes in a row. I knew I did it before and I knew I could do it again. I just had to keep my confidence up.”

Britney Ellis followed with a fielder’s choice that scored Henderson for the 5-1 lead.

“We kept the energy up in the dugout,” Wainright said. “We just tried to see the small spots on the ball and hit it.”

Mountain Valley got one run back in the fourth when Marston walked and later scored on a Katie Mills fielder’s choice. The Falcons stranded two that inning after hits by  Murphy and  Smith.

In the fifth and sixth, Dirigo opened the door with errors, but the Falcons couldn’t take advantage. With two runners on with one out in the fifth, Olsen got a fly out to Lueders at short and struck out a batter to end the threat. Then with one out and a runner on by an error in the sixth, Olsen got a flyball out and a strikeout. In the seventh, Carlton singled with one out, but Dirigo forced her out at second and then got a pop out to second to end the game.

“We work well together as a team,” Olsen said. “We talk to each other in the field and tell each other where runners are and what we need to do with the ball to help ourselves.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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