Scarborough 3

Gorham 2

And the wins just keep right on coming for the defending Class A state champion Scarborough softball team, now up to 32 consecutive wins after recent victories over Gorham and Massabesic.

On Friday, Grace Ledoux scored on an error in the top of the eighth inning to provide the winning run for the Red Storm, improving their record to 11-0 with a 3-2 win over Gorham. Scarborough pitcher Melissa Dellatorre struck out 18 batters to earn the win.

“Well, I call the pitches and I tried to go away from the batters and come inside once in a while,” said Heather Carrier, Dellatorre’s battery mate. “She does hit all her pitches and she’s doing really well. When we came down to the tough situations I knew she could do it because she is tough and we communicate really well.”

The Red Storm scored one run in the top of the first. Kira Gordon singled with one out and Catie Funk doubled to drive her home. But Gorham pitcher Kelsey Crowe got two straight strikeouts to end the inning and the threat.

“We trust her a lot,” Carrier said of Funk. “She has done really well. She’s hitting over .500. She is one of our top hitters. She has come a long way too and hopefully she can finish strong.”

For a long while it appeared Dellatorre would only need the one run. In the first five innings, she struck out 12 batters and only allowed two baserunners. She struck out the side in the second and fifth innings.

In the top of the fifth, the Storm tacked on another run. Jenn Colpitts was the first to reach base when she was hit by a pitch. Carrier then reached on an error. Gordon laid down a bunt and the Rams were unable to get any outs on the play. Funk grounded into a fielder’s choice and Colpitts was cut down at the plate. Melissa Bell then walked with the bases loaded and Carrier scored. Abbey Pelletier then came up and sent a ground ball up the middle. Somehow, Annie Mitchell came up with the ball to end the inning.

“I thought the ball went through because of the angle, so I was jumping up and down,” said Scarborough coach Tom Griffin. “But she made the play. She made an incredible play.”

The Rams mounted their comeback in their half of the sixth. Lorraine Chouinard started things with a bunt single. Monique King then singled to right. The ball was thrown away on the play and the runners moved up. Chouinard headed for home. Ledoux fired toward the plate, but her throw was off target and Gorham had their first run of the game. Rachel Fogarty then tied the game with an infield single.

“I’m very proud of the way our team played,” said Gorham coach Pete Walker. “We were down to one of the better pitchers in the conference, maybe all of western Maine, we were down 2-0 and we scored two in the sixth to tie it. We hadn’t been in a pressure situation like that, so we learned something.”

The Rams nearly won the game in the bottom of the seventh. Crowe led off with a single. Krista Keene followed that up with a bunt single and the Rams had two on with no one out. But Dellatorre struck out three straight hitters to send the game to the eighth inning.

“I’m awfully proud of her,” Griffin said. “That’s a sophomore out there hanging tough. I told her she needed to go through a game like this. If we are going to get through the playoffs and go as far as we think we can she needed to experience that. I think she grew as a player today.”

That allowed the Storm to regroup and score the winning run in the eight. Ledoux led off and reached when a pop up dropped in shallow right field. Reegan Brackett moved her over with a sacrifice bunt. Dellatorre then grounded to the pitcher but the ball was thrown away and Ledoux scored. The Rams escaped without further harm, but were unable to plate the tying run in the bottom of the inning.

“It was a character building game,” Walker said of the loss. “We’re walking out of this very positively. We’re not under the radar anymore. We’re right there with the rest of them.”

The Rams fell to 7-2 with the loss. Scarborough moved to 11-0 on the year and earned their 31st win in a row.

“I think its going to help us a lot,” Carrier said of the win. “We’ve had a few easy games in the beginning and this shows us we can get through anything if we work really hard and don’t let up on anyone.”

The Storm scored their 32nd consecutive win on Monday with a huge 13-1 win at home over Massabesic, a game that was cut short after five innings due to the 12-run rule.

The Storm put this game out of reach early with a nine-run first inning.

Ledoux paced the Storm’s attack with a two-run single in the first, Ledoux also added a double later in the game. Brackett also contributed to the Red Storm attack by knocking in a run in the first inning as well.

The win moved the Red Storm to 12-0 on the year, and thy sit on top of the latest Heal Point standings that were released this week.

Additional material by Sports Editor Mike Higgins