Softball: Oak Hill rallies to beat rival Lisbon in C South prelim

LEWISTON — Oak Hill gets to play another game after getting a scare from its upset-minded rival.

The Raiders defeated Lisbon 7-6 in a Class C South softball preliminary round game played Tuesday on the turf at Lewiston High School’s Joseph Deschenes Field.

It’s the third time this season Oak Hill has defeated Lisbon.

“It’s very tough to defeat a team three times,” Oak Hill coach Bud Voss said. “They get used to our pitching and our rotation, our defense, how we like to play. I was very nervous playing them again — they are our cross-town rival. They came out here and we started a little slow; they jumped out on top of us and we were eventually able to catch the momentum back.”

The No. 12 Greyhounds (4-13) led 6-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the No. 5 Raiders (10-7) stormed back in the frame. With the bases loaded, Sayrn Blais’s single scored two runs and got the Raiders within 6-5.

“It was really inside,” Blais said of her single off reliever Ava Kottman, who had just entered the game. “She threw inside, but it’s good for hitting.”

After Sierra Lane beat out an infield single to reload the bases, Eliana Smith reached on an error, scoring a run, and another run came in when Lisbon couldn’t catch an infield fly, giving Oak Hill a 7-6 lead.

Reliever Izzy Whitaker did her job after entering in the top of the fifth by only allowing two hits in three innings of work to close the game out.

“I remembered what my pitching coach said and focus on what I was really doing in the circle,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker said she wanted to get the job done for starter Kelsey Young — the team’s lone senior.

The Greyhounds got on the board in the top of the first with two outs. Kottman sent the ball into the jet stream, where it dropped into center field for a single.

The wind played a factor on fly balls throughout the game.

“As soon as the ball got up in the air, the wind took it,” Voss said. “So, it was hard to get a good read on it. It was on play on both sides. However, we were able to battle through it and come out with a win.”

Kottman stole second base during Maria Levesque’s at-bat, but the throw went to center. Kottman took off for third and the throw was off-target, allowing her to head home for a 1-0 lead.

Lisbon added to the lead in the second, again with two outs. Leadoff hitter Elle Burkhardt’s single scored two runs and Brook Norman sent a drive to the outfield, where the ball dropped on a potential flyout and two runs came home for a 5-0 lead.

“We have played this team twice already and have played them a lot the past three years,” Lisbon coach Nikki Delcourt Austin said. “We know a lot of the players, and we know where they hit. We know how the pitcher pitches and that was to our benefit. We know we had to come out early and score runs. That has been our downfall this season, but that’s what we did today.”

Oak Hill got a run back in the bottom of the second, with Whitaker leading off with a walk. She stole second base and scored on an Ava Rivet double to right center. The Raiders stranded two runners in the inning.

The momentum continued in the bottom of the third when Young worked a walk and Sunny Sloan came in to pinch run. Sloan stole second base and beat the tag at third base on a dropped third strike during Whitaker’s at-bat. Whitaker reached second on the play.

“I really wanted to help out the team and make sure (we go) where we want to go,” Whitaker said.

They both scored when Rivet hit the ball to the shortstop, and the throw went over the first baseman, allowing Sloan and Whitaker to both head home, cutting the deficit to 5-3.

Voss said the Raiders’ depth helped in the victory.

“We are kind of a big club, and we like to utilize what we have and use our players to the best of our abilities and the best to their skill sets,” Voss said. “It was fun, it was good and they realized to play to the last out is recorded. They didn’t give up on themselves.”

Lisbon got a run back in the top of the fourth when Levesque had a two-out triple and scored on an infield single by starting pitcher Amelia Harvey.

“Maria had a triple, Alivia Field hits the ball hard, and Sophia Bowie, she hits the ball hard,” Delcourt Austin said. “We just didn’t string enough to win, that’s all.”