LEWISTON – The way Lewiston third baseman Kim Bechard and catcher Ali Coleman struck the ground, it was as if two prize fighters had landed simultaneous blows to the head.
Both dazed, the two gathered themselves. Coleman scooped up the bright yellow ball, which had landed foul between them, and tossed it back to pitcher Amanda Michaud.
“I changed my mind,” said Coleman. “I thought I couldn’t get to it, and then I saw that I could.”
“I heard her say, No, Kim, no Kim,’ so I figured I got it,” said Bechard. “I went for it, and bam, there she was.”
Despite the snafu, and the ensuing Steph Healy single, the Blue Devils held off Leavitt in fourth inning. They also stifled the Hornets in the fifth, sixth and seventh, and made their lone run stand, upending Leavitt 1-0 at Marcotte Park on Wednesday.
“It was nice to see the team put it together,” said Lewiston coach Fred Royer. “The seniors were a little disappointed (Tuesday against Edward Little), but a win like this will do a lot for us as the season goes along.”
Ironically, it was Coleman and Bechard that combined on the game’s final play, too, this time without incident.
With Leavitt third baseman Heidi Swett on second and pinch hitter Lyndsay Gilbert on first, Coleman dropped the 0-1 pitch to Aime Chaisson between her legs. Seeing an opportunity, Swett took off for third, but Coleman recovered quickly and threw a strike to Bechard covering. Bechard applied the tag, ending the game.
“This is the way we’re going to be all year,” said Leavitt coach Pete Higgins. “We are going to be in close games all year, and we’ll learn by getting in the fire. (Swett) is just a freshman and has a lot to learn. When you’re down by one and on your last at-bat, normally you don’t take that chance, but it’s alright. She’ll learn.”
The Lewiston run, meanwhile, came as a result of some of its own aggressive running, as Michaud took off on the first pitch to Coleman and swiped second base. On the next pitch, Coleman blooped a hit into the outfield, scoring Michaud from second with the only run of the game.
“The ball jammed me,” said Coleman. “It was on the handle. When Amanda stole second, it made it better for me to hit. The pitch must have been at the right angle, and I hit it just hard enough. Sometimes all you need is a bloop single. Whatever you have to do to get it done.”
Michaud took over from there, striking out six batters, walking two and allowing three hits in the win.
“I was hitting my spots O.K.,” said Michaud. “They started to get used to it later in the game, though.”
“When Amanda is hitting her spots, there’s not much you can do,” said Coleman.
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