Old Town softball beats Ellsworth for 3rd time to earn spot in B North final

OLD TOWN, Maine — The Old Town High School Coyotes have had Ellsworth’s number this season.

Sophomore Haley Sirois allowed one run over six innings, and senior center fielder Saige Evans paced an 11-hit attack with three hits and four runs scored to lead second seed Old Town to an 11-1 win over third seed Ellsworth in a Class B North semifinal at Victory Field late Monday afternoon.

The game was called in the bottom of the sixth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

The teams had tried to play on Saturday but rain washed it out in the bottom of the first inning.

Old Town dealt Ellsworth two of its three regular season losses, 5-3 and 4-3.

Old Town beat Ellsworth 5-4 in the quarterfinals last season.

The 14-4 Coyotes, winners of five straight and 10 of their last 11 games with the only loss coming to Class A Hampden Academy, will now face top seed Nokomis of Newport, 16-2, in Tuesday’s B North championship game at Coffin Field in Brewer beginning at 7 p.m.

Nokomis, which has won 13 straight, edged Old Town 2-1 in the semifinals last season en route to the regional title.

Ellsworth finished up at 14-4 with its only other loss coming to Class A Brewer.

Evans and junior third baseman Emily Wheeler each reached base in all four of their plate appearances.

Evans had a double, two singles and a walk and Wheeler belted her first homer of the season, a solo shot, singled home another run and walked twice.

Senior first baseman Danica Brown drove in three runs with a double and a single and senior second baseman Lexi Degrasse knocked in a pair of runs.

“It was a really good day,” said Evans, who was recently named one of 10 Miss Maine Softball finalists. “We brought the intensity and everybody played well.

“We all knew we had to jump on pitches that we liked to get us going and it worked. Ellsworth is a great team. It’s tough to beat a team three times. But we came in here ready to play and came out on top,” added Evans, who will play basketball at Husson University in Bangor next fall.

Evans started a two-run first-inning rally that gave Old Town a lead it would never relinquish with a pop fly double that landed on the left field foul line.

Ava Brasslett walked and both moved up on a wild pitch by Ellsworth pitcher Anna Stevens.

An out and a walk later, Degrasse delivered Evans with a sacrifice fly to short right center field and Brasslett scored when the throw home to try to get Evans skipped past the catcher for an error.

Evans triggered a three-run rally in the third inning in her next at-bat with a base hit.

Brasslett singled and Wheeler and Degrasse drew one-out walks to force in a run before Brown walloped a long two-run double over center fielder Camryn Clough’s head.

“It hit the bat where I wanted it to,” said Brown.

In the fourth, Evans walked and scored on Natalie Fournier’s two-out double to make it 6-0 and Wheeler led off the two-run fifth with her homer to center.

Clough came on to pitch for Stevens in the sixth and run-scoring singles by Wheeler, Brown and Brianna Trimm brought the game to an end.

Sirois allowed six hits, all singles, with six strikeouts and no walks. She did hit a batter. Sirois threw 84 pitches, 58 for strikes.

“I thought I pitched well. All of my pitches were working,” said Sirois, who mixed up her pitches well and exhibited a good change-up.

Ellsworth scored its only run in the top of the sixth when Sophie Lynch reached on a two-out single, Jayden Sullivan was hit by a pitch and freshman Clough delivered a sinking line drive single to center to score Lynch.

In addition to Sirois’ pitching and the 11-hit attack, the Coyotes turned in an exceptional defensive performance, making only one error.

They turned in a number of gems including shortstop Brasslett’s play on a sharp grounder in the hole by Lynch; first baseman Brown’s over-the-shoulder catch on Lynch’s foul pop up in the third; second baseman Degrasse’s nice running catch off Lizzie Boles in the fifth and an alert play by right fielder Taylor Madden in the next at-bat in the fifth as she caught Brooklynn Carter’s fly ball in right center and threw to Brown at first for a double play.

“We just didn’t hit today and hats off to (Old Town), they played a great game,” said Ellsworth coach Brandi Ensworth.