RUMFORD — In a game when neither team could find a consistent offense, pitching and defense became paramount. Telstar proved to be better in those two categories, and eventually on the offensive side as well, downing Mountain Valley 5-0 in a MVC softball game Saturday.
The Rebels are now 7-0, while the Falcons drop to 2-3.
Both teams had early chances to plate the game’s first run. Telstar got batters to second and third in the top of the first, but Falcons pitcher Emily Laubauskas struck out Hayley Peterson looking to end the threat.
Mountain Valley found itself in a similar situation, with two runners in scoring position and just one out in the third, but Olivia York induced a pair of pop-ups to get out of the jam.
“Our problem was our swinging today,” Mountain Valley coach Lisa Russell said. “We’ve had a rough week — AP testing, dance recitals. They’re all exhausted, doesn’t help. So they were lifting the front shoulder, dropping their back and they were popping up a lot.”
That was the Falcons’ best chance against York. No. 9 hitter Jordyn Turner laced a double to left and Laubauskas followed with an infield single. Those were two of the three hits York gave up in a solid outing.
The Telstar senior ace wasn’t dominant, striking out just three batters, but she worked in tandem with her defense to shut down the Mountain Valley hitters.
“We count on Liv not putting people on base. That’s obviously a strength,” Telstar coach Jim Lunney said. “And we rely on our defense.”
On the flip side, the Falcons’ defense eventually did them in. Telstar pushed the first run across in the top of the fourth, using some wildness from Laubauskas and a bunt to get onto the scoreboard.
Laubauskas struck out Becca Howard to lead off, but then walked a pair of batters. Dhama Damon dropped down a bunt that eluded Laubauskas, then Lisa Gammon drew a bases-loaded walk on a full count to drive in a run. Laubauskas, who Russell said had a hard time figuring out the strike zone, struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Another Rebel run came across in the fifth thanks to a pair of Falcon errors. After Kelli Trenoweth made one nice catch on a shallow fly behind first she couldn’t replicate the effort, and Howard’s two-out swing dropped down. Tehya Johnson then hit a single to second that Trenoweth couldn’t corral, and Howard rumbled around the bases to third. She didn’t stop there, and a throw from third to home by Sydney Petrie went off-target, allowing Howard to score on the play.
“When we made those errors that’s when they kind of lost it a little bit,” Russell said. “Mental game as always.”
Telstar put the game away in the top of the seventh, when the Rebels finally started to get bunts down that Lunney had been looking for all along.
“Finally in the middle and later innings their aggressiveness hurt them a little bit, in that we bunted and it went off gloves and they overcharged, and we got a couple key hits,” Lunney said. “It was a grind.”
York led off the frame by drawing a walk, then moved to second on a passed ball. Howard followed with a double that took a hard bounce up and over shortstop Karen Flaherty to bring York home. Howard came home herself on Johnson’s single past second.
A walk and a bunt single loaded the bases, but Laubauskas secured a pair of outs via strikeout and pop-up to get close to ending the threat. Then she hit Tasha Hart to bring home the fifth and final run.
Laubauskas showed flashes of dominance at times, striking out seven batters, but six walks hurt her.
York was steady throughout, save for the two-hit third and a pair of hit batters, which she simply said “happens.” She didn’t allow a walk and retired 13 of the final 16 batters after the consecutive hits.
It’s the same York that Lunney has been counting on for the past two seasons, when his ace has gone 24-3 and helped lead the Rebels to the Class C state championship game.
Through seven games this season the Rebels are starting to look like a team that could make it back to the final.
“We just got to do a little bit better with the bats,” Lunney said. “But we’re in a good spot. The defense is playing well, (Olivia is) playing well.”
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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