John Bapst ends Ponies’ season in extra innings

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom EYE ON THE BALL — Sophomore Alli Bourget makes the play near third base, with classmate Grace Bickford at shortstop, during Foxcroft’s preliminary round game vs. John Bapst on June 9 in Dover-Foxcroft. The contest went to extra innings with the No. 12 Crusaders earning a 13-11 victory over the fifth-seeded Ponies.

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — By finishing fifth in the Class B East Heal Point standings, the Foxcroft Academy softball team earned the right to host a preliminary round playoff game on June 9, the program’s first postseason contest on its home field in at least a decade. The Ponies ended up facing No. 12 John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor, a team that swept Foxcroft in 2015 which included a victory in the regular season finale in Bangor less than a week prior.

Down 8-5 after six innings, John Bapst would score three times in the seventh to extend 2015 for both teams into extra innings. The Crusaders were not done there as the team scored five times in the top of the eighth for a 13-8 advantage. Three Ponies crossed the plate in the home half of the inning, but this would not be enough as John Bapst held on to earn the trip to the quarterfinals with a 13-11 victory.

After five and a half innings Foxcroft had the slimmest of leads at 6-5. With one out, senior Liz Richard sent the ball to deep right field and she was able to sprint around the bases for a triple. With freshman Jenna Clukey at the plate, a pitch by John Bapst freshman Kayla Massey was way off the mark as it rolled to the backstop. Richard dashed home to score ahead of the throw to up the lead to 7-5.

A batter later sophomore Grace Bickford dropped a double into play just shy of the center field fence. Bickford then swiped third base and junior Avery Carroll — who led the Ponies in going 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs– put the ball through a hole in the left side of the infield to drive in Bickford for what would turn out to be a vital eighth run.

Pony run No. 8 meant the game was tied after John Bapst’s three-run seventh, and the Crusaders proceeded to allow just one baserunner in a scoreless home half of the seventh before putting five more runs on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth.

Richard, who along with Deseray LaBlanc are the only seniors on the Pony roster, began the eighth by drawing a walk. A Clukey double then put the two Ponies in scoring position.

After a strikeout by Massey, Carroll followed her three singles by doubling down the left field line to drive in both Richard and Clukey and make the game 13-10.

Junior Desirae Brawn followed by singling up the middle to allow Carroll to score from second and put the Ponies within two at 13-11, and bring the potential tying run to the plate. A ground ball by junior Gabi Johnson became a fielder’s choice for the Crusaders with the force at second for out No. 2. Massey then induced an infield pop fly that she caught on the run on the chalk leading to third for the third and final out.

Foxcroft ends the season with a record of 10-7, with three of the losses coming at the hands of John Bapst (7-10) as the Crusaders won the team’s fourth straight game.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

DUCK AND RUN — Foxcroft senior Liz Richard was able to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth before the throw can be made to John Bapst junior Elizabeth Spear.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

ASSIST FROM FIRST — Junior Desirae Brawn returns a fielded grounder, with senior Liz Richard backing her up, to the plate for the tag and the out in the top of the second of the June 8 Class B East prelim between No. 5 Foxcroft and No. 12 John Bapst.