MV girls play well in loss to Rebels

RUMFORD -- It’s not always how you start, but what happens after that and the Telstar-Mountain Valley softball teams experienced the darkside at the old ball grounds.

A two-run triple by Victoria Forkus highlighted a six-run sixth inning as the Lady Rebels needed everything in a 10-5 win against the scrappy Falcons.

Telstar (9-1) entered the game with high expectations because it was the first outing to get back on track after losing 2-1 at Dirigo, their first regular season loss in three years.

“This was an ugly win,” said Telstar coach Jim Lunney, referring to the six errors. “The girls realized it and know that we expect to and have to play better. Except for that one big inning, we certainly didn’t do a good job.”

The Rebels sent 12 batters to the plate in the sixth and scored their six runs on four hits. Hannah Morin and Tasha Farnum each reached on bleeders and Forkus tripled to the right-centerfield gap. Forkus, Autum Berry, Sarah Averill and Lyndsey Merrill each scored.

“All those runs came with two outs,” said Mountain Valley coach Brian Mills. “A lot of those (batted balls) were pop-ups, but we made our share of miscues. I thought Brooke Dolloff came in and did a good job of shutting them down. But the kids never quit.”

Class B Mountain Valley (3-6) had scored a run in the fourth on a single by Jesse Kane and an RBI double by Hannah LaPointe. Prior to then, Telstar pitcher Kayla Merrill had only allowed a single by Courtney Carlson in the first inning.

The Falcons made things interesting by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Delaney Paterson led off with a single and raced home when Carlton's single was misplayed. Two more reached safely and scored on LaPointe’s single.

“We didn’t have many chances until the seventh,” said Mills. “We had kept the score early on until the sixth. Our pinch hitters came through for us in the end.”

Mountain Valley actually was resourceful and as pitcher Lindsay Gallant held the Rebel batters at bay. The senior right hander allowed four runs through three innings. However, it could have been more if not for stranding the bases loaded in each inning. Forkus had an RBI single in the second inning and there were three unearned runs in the third.