Lincoln County 11&12 Little League softball all-stars successfully defended their District 2 title on July 14 in Rockport. Lincoln defeated Rockland 10-2 in the D2 finals to earn a berth in the state tournament, to be played in Biddeford.
Chloe Hallowell went the distance in the win, striking out four, walking five, and giving up four hits. Ari Curtis took the loss (4H,5B,0K,7R) and Brittany Rytky (2H,1B,3R) and Sarah Penney (4K,3B,1H,0R) pitched in relief.
Lincoln took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning when Sophie Schumacher drew a walk, stole to third and scored on a Hallowell sacrifice fly. They added two runs in the 2nd. Olivia York reached on a bunt single and scored on a Christine Hilton ground out. Alyx York singled and scored on a Kate Laemmle ground out.
Lincoln broke the game open with a four run 3rd inning. Hallowell reached on an error and scored on a Natalie Whitney single. Danielle Pinkham, O. York and Lauren Hunt walked to load up the bases. Whitney scored on a passed ball. Pinkham scored on an RBI fielder’s choice to A. York, and O. York on a ground out to Lindsay Brackett.
Rockland spoiled the shutout with a run in the top of the 4th. Sarah Penney was hit by a pitch and scored on an Emma Provost single.
Lincoln added three runs in the 4th. Schumacher beat out an infield hit for a single, Hallowell walked and both scored on a Whitney single. Whitney scored on the throw on a dropped third strike. Rockland relief pitcher Penney shut Lincoln down to prevent the mercy ruling win.
Rockland added a run in the top of the 5th when Megan Megonagle reached on an infield single and scored on an error.
Defensively, Lincoln had a big double play in the second inning when Danielle Pinkham caught a pop fly at second and drilled a throw to A. York at third to pick off Penney. Catcher Brie Wajer threw out a base runner at second in the 4th. Lincoln caught eight pop-fly’s in the win, including two each by A. York and Pinkham, and one each from Hallowell, Wajer, O. York and Christine Hilton.
Hitting for Lincoln County were Whitney and Schumacher two singles each, and Margarett Skiff, O. York, and A. York a single each. Hitting for Rockland were Ireland LeBlanc with two singles and Brianna Dugan and Megan Megonagle a single each.
