BIDDEFORD — Coming into this season, Thornton Academy softball coach John Provost preached hitting and scoring with two outs.
His players heard his wisdom from the proverbial pulpit, and Saturday, followed his advice perfectly in a 17-1 win against rival Biddeford.
The Golden Trojans used three different innings to score a total of 13 runs with two outs while collecting eight hits during the same time frame.
“For us, it’s all about keeping the game moving,” Provost said. “It was just a great, great start to the season.”
Prognosticators pegged Thornton Academy as one of the SMAA’s top teams, and it is expected to challenge perennial power Scarborough for the league crown this season.
Saturday didn’t prove that thought any differently, senior pitcher and leadoff hitter Julia Geaumont said.
“I think it’s good for us to come out and try to make a statement every inning,” Geaumont said. “We need to try and do our best every time. We still have a lot to work on, but this is a good start.”
Geaumont started the game with a home run to right field, giving the Golden Trojans a 1-0 lead. She also hit two singles.
Her home run marked the fourth straight year she has hit a homer in the opening game of the season.
“It feels pretty good,” she said. “That never gets old.”
Defensively she scattered three hits in five innings and struck out five from the circle.
“Julia is just a great, great competitor,” Biddeford coach Leon Paquin said. “She makes it tough to get a run off of her.”
Biddeford trailed 3-0 heading into the top of the third, but the flood gates opened during that inning.
With two outs, Thornton Academy scored seven runs on three hits and took advantage of two Biddeford errors, taking an 11-0 lead.
Biddeford cut the lead to 11-1 in the bottom of the third when Delani Roy scored on an error.
Thornton Academy, however, tacked on five more two-out runs in the top of the fourth, and made the score 16-1 when Erin Brayden rocketed a double to center field that plated three runs.
The game ended due to time constraints in the bottom of the fifth with Biddeford trailing 17-1, invoking the mercy rule.
Biddeford’s Mariah Albert had two hits.
For Thornton Academy, Bailey Tremblay had two singles, Samantha Schildroth had three singles, Brayden had two singles and a double, Brooke Cross had a double and Katie Kalagias had a triple.
Paquin said the young Tigers will need to forget this game and move on.
“Today, we made mistakes, and you can’t make mistakes at the varsity level against a team like that and expect to win,” he said. “I was happy with how the girls competed, and they didn’t give up. We can’t let this affect us.”
The Tigers fell to 0-2 while Thornton improved to 1-0.
Thornton Academy was scheduled to host Portland today. No decision on the game had been made as of deadline.
— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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