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SACO — It’s been four years since anyone not named Julia Geaumont started in the pitchers’ circle for the Thornton Academy softball team. That ended with a bang on Friday as sophomore Bailey Tremblay took advantage of her first varsity start.

Tremblay, who started in place of the graduated Geaumont, was Geaumont-like as she allowed only one run, scattered six hits, struck out three and didn’t walk any batters in her debut.

“I felt pretty good,” Tremblay said. “My defense helped me out a lot and I didn’t really feel the pressure. I knew coming in they (Biddeford) were a good hitting team, but I felt I mixed my speeds up well.”

Thornton coach John Provost said he agreed with Tremblay’s assessment of her game.

“It’s definitely different not seeing Julia out there,” Provost said of the 2012 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. “She (Tremblay) threw a great game.”

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It also helped that the Trojans scored nine runs on 11 hits and took advantage of three Biddeford errors to win the opening game of the season.

“That really calmed me down,” Tremblay said. “It allowed me to just focus on pitching.”

The Trojans scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Tremblay laced a hit into center field that plated Taylor Lux for the game’s first. The Trojans scored again when Tremblay scored from third base on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.

Thornton tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the second inning when Brooke Cross smacked a double into left field that scored Morgan Dube and Aleisha Cross for a 4-0 lead. Thornton went up 5-0 in the inning when Erin Brayden ripped a single to right that scored Lux.

The Tigers (0-1) scored their only run of the game in the top of the fourth when Alyssa Baldino smashed a single to right that scored Dalani Roy, who was courtesy running for pitcher Abbey Paquette after she nailed a double to center field.

“I think the girls were nervous today, which is to be expected,” Biddeford coach Leon Paquin said. “It was definitely a little bit of nerves, but they played hard and we’ll get better as the season goes on.”

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The Trojans took a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning after Brayden ripped her second hit of the game, a single to right, that scored Tremblay for a 6-1 score. Samantha Schildroth followed that with a single to center that scored Lux. Thornton (1-0) put the game out of reach in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two more times. The first run came when Tremblay smacked a single to center field that plated Aleisha Cross for an 8-1 lead. Thornton then took advantage of Biddeford’s third error of the game that allowed Aurora Connolly for the game’s final score.

“We made too many errors today,” Paquin said. “You can’t do that in this league and win games. We’ll get better as the season goes on. There is a lot of softball left to play.”

For Provost, he said he was pleased with the start to the season.

“I thought the girls played really well today,” he said. “They really hit the ball well and played good defensively. Biddeford’s a good team and Leon’s going to win a lot of games this year.”

Biddeford’s next game is on Monday when it plays at Noble at 4 p.m. Thornton plays at Portland at 4 p.m. on Monday.



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