SACO ”“ If Thornton Academy wanted a visual reminder of where the softball trail could take them, all it had to do was look straight across the diamond.

And into the Scarborough dugout.

The Red Storm, Maine Class-A champions last year, showed Thornton, and anyone else paying attention, that they haven’t lost a step, by handing the Golden Trojans an 8-3 setback, Thursday.

It had been a match up of unbeatens, but Scarborough eased to a 1-0 first inning lead, padded it with three more runs in the third, and had had little trouble keeping Thornton at arm’s length after that.

“Our first five games were leading up to this game,” said right fielder Sami Martemucci, whose two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning provided Thornton with most of its offense. “We know that they’ve won (a) state championship. That’s something that we look to do. We knew this game was going to be hard.”

Up to then, adversity was a total stranger to the Trojans, who had outscored their previous five foes by a whopping 38-2 margin.

However, the Storm jumped ahead early, on Abby Rutt’s RBI double off Thornton sophomore hurler Julia Geaumont.

Two frames later, Scarborough rapped out five hits, made use of a key error, and upped its lead to 4-0.

“When you give a great team a lot of extra chances,” said Thornton coach John Provost, “this is what happens. They’re a very good team, and we just didn’t execute today.”

The Trojans did have their moments, however.

In the bottom of the third, they crept back to within two runs, after lead off hitter Hannah Ebling stroked a single to center. Martemucci followed and launched a ball into the jet stream that

finally settled beyond the center field fence.

“The team always makes fun of me,” said Martemucci, “because I always swing at the first pitch. But it was right down the middle, and that made it easy.”

However, the Trojans could do little else with the offerings of

Scarborough Melissa Dellatore.

Kristen Duross’ RBI double in the bottom of the fifth brought in courtesy runner Karen Jacques, and kept Thornton to within 5-3.

Scarborough replied immediately with three runs in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” said Martemucci. “It will help us.”

The Trojans will return to action, Monday, at Biddeford.

— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.