SACO – Bonny Eagle scored four runs in the fourth inning alone Monday, putting the game essentially out of reach for Thornton Academy, who could never complete the rally they occasionally looked to start in the 12-3 Scots victory.

Both teams are now 3-2.

“[Allison] Pillar got us going, with a couple RBIs,” Bonny Eagle head coach Sue Rondeau said after the game. “I think that’s huge, just getting a couple on them and then being able to loosen up. I think Erica (Sullivan) pitched a great game and got us – we had a good lead – and just having Alli (Pike) be able to come in and close was a big day.”

Thornton head coach John Provost was frustrated by his team’s error-filled afternoon.

“Most games have 21 outs? Today, they had 40. Errors … just errors … probably seven or eight errors,” he said. “Fly balls, missing fly balls. Bases loaded, fly ball, falls in; three runs score. So yeah, just errors.”

Through the first three innings, Bonny Eagle tallied four runs. It wasn’t until mid-game that their production peaked.

The Scots opened the fourth with an out, but then Pike clubbed a bouncy grounder and made it to first. Kelsey Gaddy followed her to the plate, and then to first on four balls. Pillar stepped up next, snapped a grounder and raced to first, loading the bases for teammate Caitlyne Dyer, who chopped a base hit, though Pike was thrown out at home. The bases still loaded, Becca Howell sidled into the batter’s box and smashed a double to deep center, driving three runs in.

Bonny Eagle stood on top, 7-0, but they weren’t done yet. Breanna Lifland belted another double and drove home another run before the wounded Trojans could escape the inning.

Rondeau was never convinced the game was a sealed deal, however.

“I felt nervous the whole time,” she said, “Which was weird…TA’s a great club – they’ve got good bats – so you don’t want to be complacent with what you have for runs, so it was almost like we just had to keep going at them. But every time we gave up a run, we went and got a run.”

“We didn’t hit,” Provost said. “We’re down seven runs, and we’re attempting to head home on a throw down to second base … we just didn’t have – no mental softball today.”

Thornton did hit, but sporadically. They couldn’t string together enough hits to bring home the legion of runners they needed. In the bottom of the fourth, Taylor Lux earned a base hit, and teammate Sam Schildroth slammed a shot deep into the outfield, which sent Lux across the plate again, but their next three batters all struck out.

Bonny Eagle, on the other hand, finished strong, putting up three more runs in their last at-bat to give the game its final score. Sullivan chalked up the win for the Bonny Eagle Scots, while Thornton pitcher Trembley took the loss for the Trojans.

Bonny Eagle’s Breanna Lifland slides for home, while Trojans’ catcher Aleisha Cross dives towards her, ball in hand. 
Staff photo by Adam Birt
TA pitcherScots pitcher