Falcon girls back on track with 6-1 win

BETHEL -- Just because things don't always start out well, it depends on what happens after that and the Mountain Valley softball team experienced first hand how important it is to keep a level head and eventually things will around.

A four-run fifth inning opened changed the course and Lindsay Marston scattered four hits in going the distance as the Lady Falcons received a team effort in a 6-1 win against Telstar.

Mountain Valley entered the game with high expectations because it was the first outing to get back on track after losing 11-5 at Dirigo two days earlier. The game on top of the hill in Bethel presented an opportunity that the Falcons wasn't about to pass on by.

MV led 1-0 entering the fifth when they erupted. Aly Carlton and Kristin Ridge each singled. MV attempted a steal, but the ball eluded the fielder, allowing Carlton to score. On the play, Ridge alertly broke for third and scored when the Rebels threw the ball away.

With two outs, Kasey Smith singled and Marston was hit by a pitch. Delaney Paterson delivered a two-run single.

Carlton, Ridge and Smith each had two hits against Telstar pitcher Jessica Dirago, who had thrown the first three scoreless innings. But the effort was wasted by the defending Class C state champions. The youthful Rebels shot themselves in the foot by committing seven errors in the field, which MV promptly took full advantage of.

MV broke the stalemate, scoring an unearned run in the fourth. Brooke Dolloff singled to center and kept running when the ball was misplayed. The Falcon junior raced home when the relay throw was bobbled.

Telstar scored its lone run in the fifth. Sadie Ellsworth singled, advanced on an error and raced home on the front end of a double steal.

Falcon center fielder Shannon Laubauskas scored an unearned run in the sixth. MV also shined in the field with solid plays by catcher Katie Collette and Laubauskas.