SACO — Some high school teams don’t like to look at the standings during the early part of the regular season.
The Thornton Academy softball squad isn’t one of them.
“We found out in the Heal Points this morning that we were in the 10 spot, and they were in the two spot,” senior catcher Sam Schildroth said of Monday’s opponent Noble. “I think that definitely fired us up.”
It certainly did, as Thornton pieced together 12 hits ”“ including a three-run homer by Schildroth ”“ to put her team up 10-1 in the fifth off Knights ace Amber Kelly. TA starter Bailey Tremblay pitched out of trouble on multiple occasions to help the Golden Trojans to a 10-6 victory in a game that could ultimately go a long way in determining Western Class A playoff positioning.
Monday’s win also ended a two-game Thornton losing streak, but was just the start of a big week for the Trojans, who on Wednesday will travel to Sanford (5-3), which is now first in the Heal Points after a 3-2 victory over previously undefeated Scarborough Monday. TA will host Massabesic (4-4) Friday.
“It’s definitely a good win,” Thornton coach John Provost said. “We talked about it. We’ve got Sanford on Wednesday and then Massabesic, and all of those teams are near the top in the Heals, so today was a big win.”
Defense has been Thornton’s (4-3) Achilles’ heel early on ”“ the Trojans committed at least three errors in each of their three losses ”“ and it looked like play in the field would bite them again Monday when an error on the left-fielder allowed the Knights (5-3) to take a 1-0 lead in the first.
But a Schildroth single that plated Tremblay got Thornton back to all square in the bottom half, and the Trojans caught a break in the second when, with two outs, Noble catcher Brooke Hamilton couldn’t handle a pop up in foul territory off the bat of Aleisha Cross.
With new life, Cross singled to center a few pitches later, starting a two-out rally. Two more Noble errors, and a pair of RBI singles from Karen Jacques and Brooke Cross (Aleisha’s sister) later had Thornton up 4-1.
“A lot of our runs today were with two outs,” Provost said. “It’s just timely hits, and you’ve got to do that with two outs.”
The Trojans added another in the third on a Morgan Dube RBI single, and then put together the big inning in the fourth. Tremblay had a two-RBI hit and Schildroth sent a Kelly fastball off the top of the fence in left-center for a three-run dinger and a 10-1 lead.
“I rounded first and I saw it hit off the top of the fence, and I crossed my fingers,” Schildroth said. “It was scary.”
In total, eight of the nine Thornton starters had at least one hit, with seven different scoring runs.
“We’re a very good hitting team. I trust everyone who gets up to the plate,” Schildroth said. “If it’s not me, it’s Erin Brayden (2-for-3, two runs) or it’s Bailey. We have a solid hitting team, and we’ve always got each other’s back in the lineup.”
On the other side, Tremblay worked her way to three consecutive scoreless innings after the first, stranding Noble runners in scoring position each time.
But in the fifth, the Knights loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and two hits, and this time Tremblay couldn’t get out of the jam as Melodie Bailey walloped a big fly over the right-field fence for a grand slam.
However, following another Noble run in the fifth thanks to a pair of Trojan errors, Tremblay struck out two to end the inning, and then retired the top of the Knights’ order on just four pitches in the sixth.
After Bailey led off the top of the seventh with a single, Tremblay slammed the door by inducing a pop out and then striking out the final two batters for the four-run win.
“She’s a sophomore, but that’s how she is,” Provost said. “She puts it behind her and nothing sticks with her very long.”
“She’s run into a lot of innings, unfortunately this season, where we’ve had some errors and bad hops here and there, but she holds herself together really well,” Schildroth added. “She gets in tough situations and she’s able to pick herself up and pitches through it.”
— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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