SACO — The Thornton Academy softball field transformed into Coors Field on Monday afternoon.

In what turned into a home run derby, the Golden Trojans beat Sanford 12-5 on yet another cold, drizzly day in Saco.

The teams hit five home runs combined, but Thornton got the better of the Redskins when the Golden Trojans pegged on eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the win.

Though the Redskins (7-5) hit two home runs off her, Thornton pitcher Julia Geaumont struck out 13 batters on the afternoon, and contributed in the slugfest by knocking out the first home run of the game in the third inning.

The Trojans (9-2) held a 4-0 lead on Sanford heading into the fourth inning, but Sanford fought back with a two-run homer by Kellie Tovey to cut the lead to 4-2. The Redskins came close to taking the lead in the top of the sixth, as Sanford had the bases loaded with no outs. But Geaumont buckled down and struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning.

“I know when I get in a situation like that, I have confidence in myself and the defense behind me,” Geaumont said. “It’s more or less just, get the strike, and overpower, and I have to get perfection, because I can’t walk a girl in. It’s hitting perfection and having the confidence behind me.”

The Trojans went into slugging mode in the bottom of the inning, scoring eight runs on seven hits, including home runs by Kristen Duross and Meghan Agger to bring the score to 12-2.

“That was awesome,” Geaumont said. “Definitely coming off of three strikeouts to come out of that inning, we had some momentum and we took it with our bats, too, and that’s what we needed. We only turned it on for one inning. We’d like to turn it on for all seven, but it’s better than no innings.”

Duross led all Trojan batters with four hits, two RBIs and two stolen bases.

Sanford head coach Kristi Cochin said the inning took its toll on the Redskins mentally.

“We’re still young,” Cochin said. “A couple errors, a couple hits, then we start thinking that we have to get triple plays on every play, other than what we really need to do. They forget that it’s still a really simple game, and that’s when we start to throw the ball around and drop the ball. We’re walking away from this trying to forget that inning, and knowing that this was not a 12-5 [game]. It was a much harder battle than that.”

Sanford didn’t go quietly in the seventh inning, scoring three more runs, including a two-run homer by Lindsay Nolette to bring the score to 12-5. But Geaumont again settled down and finish the game, striking out two of the final three outs of the contest.

Geaumont praised Sanford after the game, as the Redskins gave her one of the hardest contests of the season.

“They’re a good team, and they’re scrappy,” Geaumont said. “They fight seven innings, they’re not going to just give up. They wanted it, and you could see it through every inning. They wanted to win every inning, it wasn’t just winning the game, it was winning every inning, too.”

Monday was the first day of a big week for both teams. The Trojans hit the road Wednesday for a game with Kennebunk, both considered potential playoff teams. The Trojans are a lock for the playoffs, but a win over a playoff contender like the Rams can only give the team more confidence.

Sanford may have the hardest road of any team looking for playoff positioning, as the Redskins play both Scarborough and Biddeford before the end of the week.

Cochin said the Redskins will take the positive of their contest with the Trojans into the rest of the week.

“It’s a tough day, but not all negative,” Cochin said.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318 or follow on Twitter @Dave_Dyer.