SOUTH PARIS — The Cinderella run for the Lawrence High softball team came to an end Saturday afternoon.
No. 3 Oxford Hills scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and held on to beat the No. 10 Bulldogs 4-1 in a Class A North semifinal. The Vikings will meet No. 1 Skowhegan in the regional final Wednesday.
Two flare singles set the stage for a pair of Lawrence errors in the crucial fourth inning, helping Oxford Hills (13-5) erase an early 1-0 deficit. Bulldog senior Lilly Herrin tried to right the ship, striking out 11 batters and holding Oxford Hills to just five hits and give her team a chance at a comeback late.
“She was the real deal, no question about that, all season long,” Lawrence coach Joey Marcoux said. “She really showed up the last three games for us and tried to put the team on her back.”
Lawrence took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when junior catcher Haley Holt tripled and later scored on Gretta Knowlton’s RBI single.
Lawrence’s season ends at 10-9, after having to win a preliminary round game at Messalonskee just to keep advancing in the tournament.
“All season long, we felt like we were capable of being more than an eight-win team,” Marcoux said. “There were a lot of games where we were right there on edge of winning and just didn’t. We had to work hard to win the eight we did, but we could have easily won more if a couple of breaks go our way in some of those games.”
Lauren Merrill went the distance in the circle for Oxford Hills to earn the win.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
