BREWER, Maine — With senior pitcher Morgan Downs sidelined by a broken toe, freshman righty Sara Young has been toeing the rubber in the circle for the Brewer High School softball team this spring.
So far, so good.
Young tossed a four-hitter on Wednesday, striking out six and walking three, and the Class A Witches erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning to beat Class B contender Ellsworth 9-2 at Coffin Field.
Young and the Witches are 3-0 while the Eagles are 1-1.
Young walked three of the first six hitters she faced but settled down afterward.
Just one of the runs was earned and Young threw 109 pitches, 49 through the first two innings and just 60 over the final five innings. She threw 72 strikes among her 109 pitches.
“I always get a little bit nervous before the game,” Young said. “As the game gets going and we really get going as a team, I really get into it and settle right down.”
She said her screwball was good today.
“I commanded my fastball well inside and outside and my change-up was on today,” she added.
“She’s good. She hit her spots and focused hard,” said Ellsworth junior shortstop Aaliyah Manning, who made a number of sparkling defensive plays and singled sharply to right center with two outs in the fifth to drive in Anna Stevens and tie the game 2-2.
Senior Hannah Wagstaff pitched four innings of six-hit, two-run softball for the Eagles and sophomore Stevens came on to pitch the fifth.
She walked Jordan Doak to lead off the inning and senior catcher Hannah Reed belted a long opposite-field triple down the right field line to deliver Doak and give Brewer the lead for good.
“It was a low, outside pitch and I reached my hands across the plate and hit it on the sweet spot [of the bat],” said Reed, who then scored on a wild pitch.
Jordin Williams reached on an infield hit, Young walked, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third.
Emma Jameson reached on an infield error and received an RBI. Freshman Jill Ford singled home a pair of runs and Doak capped the rally with a two-run triple down the right field line.
Young’s fielder’s choice scored a run in the first to give Brewer a 1-0 lead but Jayden Sullivan tied it with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Young doubled and scored on Olivia Gilmore’s single to make it 2-1 in the fourth but Ellsworth tied it in the fifth on Manning’s base hit.
Brewer had three hits in the fourth inning and Ellsworth coach Brandi Ensworth brought Stevens in as part of the game plan.
“They’re a big hitting team. I knew they were getting hot so I hoped a different pitcher would change that,” said Ensworth, who felt her team struggled at the plate.
“Some days you have it and some days you don’t. Today wasn’t our day,” she said.
Ford had three singles for the youthful Witches while Doak and Reed each tripled and singled.
Annabelle Hackett doubled for Ellsworth with Stevens, Manning and Natalie Jagels each producing a base hit.
Brewer sophomore Williams, the second baseman, made several nice plays as her team committed just one error.
Brewer will next host Lewiston at 4 p.m. on Saturday while Ellsworth hosts John Bapst of Bangor at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
