WATERBORO — Desperation time has begun for Sanford and Massabesic, and that was fully evident as the two rivals met in an SMAA softball clash on Monday. Two teams currently on the outside looking in for a playoff berth needed a win to inch closer to the postseason. In the end, it was a young Spartan team that had stumbled as of late that rallied for a 6-5 victory at Lions Field.
“It’s huge. The girls came up, and they had a ”˜do not quit’ attitude, and they just hit the ball when they had to,” said Sanford head coach Mike Bailey. “This is big for us to get back on that winning track.”
Sanford (4-7) entered the game with just eight runs scored over its last 10 games, after combining for 24 in its first two. It didn’t take long for the Spartans to score their first run in nearly two weeks, as Jen Jones smacked a single up the middle with two outs in the first inning to drive home Jordan Wilson.
Massabesic (2-10) answered in the bottom of the second, as Alyssa Wardwell hit a lead-off triple and scored on a wild pitch.
Sanford took the lead back an inning later on another wild pitch, as Wilson took advantage of an errant Sarah Howe delivery.
The Mustangs answered right back, however, with Wardwell driving in Tessa Bandle with a two-out single in the bottom half of the frame. Jones struck out four batters in the inning, but a wild third strike to Abby Greenleaf kept the inning alive and set the stage for Wardwell.
Massabesic scored single runs in the next three innings, first on another wild pitch ”“ a close play at the plate that scored Emilie Duggan ”“ then followed by a sacrifice grounder by Wardwell and a sacrifice bunt by Bandle on another close play at the plate.
Sanford scored a single run in the top of the fifth that temporarily tied the game 3-3. Morgan Coleman beat out a throw to first on a grounder to third that plated Morgan Fogg.
The Spartans entered the top of the seventh down 5-3, despite 11 strikeouts from Jones, against just four hits. It was no other than Jones that led off the inning, and she started it off with a triple to right-center.
“I have to hit the ball,” Jones said of what was going through her head when she stepped to the plate. “I needed to start a rally for the rest of the team, and if I struck out then, I wouldn’t have started anything. I knew I had to hit the ball that time, so I did.”
Sam Fecteau was then hit by a pitch, and with Coleman batting, Jones scored on a double steal. Coleman then singled up the middle, and advanced to second when the throw in from the outfield went to third. A sacrifice groundout by Isabelle Johnson scored Fecteau to tie the game, and a wild pitch ball four that Emily Begin drew on a 3-2 pitch scored pinch runner Courtney Camire to give Sanford a 6-5 lead.
“She came up, and she did what she had to do. She put the ball out there, ran hard,” Bailey said of Jones. “The thing is, the way our team goes is how Jen Jones goes, and if she’s a confident hitter, confident pitcher, we’re a confident team.”
Jones struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh before Greenleaf singled to Fogg deep at shortstop, who overthrew first base to allow Greenleaf to advance to second.
That brought Wardwell to the plate, but the batter who had a direct hand in a Massabesic run in each of her previous three at-bats grounded out to Jones to end the game.
“I didn’t even know I had it in my glove,” said Jones. “I was just happy I got it. It was great.”
“I couldn’t ask for anything better; we had Alyssa coming up. She’s a great hitter. And she made some nice contact there; that pitcher just made a nice play on it,” said Massabesic head coach Ray Magnant. “But in that situation, that’s who I want to see come to the plate, is Alyssa. We just couldn’t sneak it through.”
While Sanford ”“ a team with only three upperclassmen that get regular playing time ”“ was able to show maturity in fighting and rallying back, the loss was a tough pill to swallow for a Massabesic team, with 12 upperclassmen, that has seen its share of missed opportunities.
“They played a great game. That was probably one of the better games we’ve played all year long, fighting back from being behind,” said Magnant. “But it’s been defense all year long. Teams really haven’t beat us; we’ve beat ourselves.
“Taking that two-run lead there going into the seventh, I thought for sure we really had it. We just can’t put them away. We’re having a hard time finding a way to win.”
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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