BANGOR, Maine — The Hampden Academy softball team’s primary objective this season is to be a good hitting team, according first-year head coach Deb Colpitts.
And the Broncos certainly swung the bats well on Thursday, pounding 12 hits in five innings en route to an 18-6 victory over Class A North rival Bangor in the Rams’ home opener.
The game was called after the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Hampden improved to 3-0 while Bangor fell to 0-3.
Sophomore shortstop Cat Facchini and senior right fielder Laurali Parker each had a double and two singles to pace the Broncos.
Facchini knocked in three runs while Parker had one RBI.
Six other Broncos had one hit each.
“Our main focus was sitting on the ball, staying more on top of it rather than under it and making sure we made good contact,” said Facchini.
Parker said they wanted to be patient because Bangor pitcher Taylor Clark didn’t throw as hard as other pitchers they’ve faced.
“We have a lot of experienced players who know how to hit the ball and where to put it and we did a really good job,” said Parker.
Colpitts said she liked the fact her hitters “never let up.
“That’s great to see,” said Colpitts.
Junior lefthander Kiera Gabric went the distance for the win, allowing five hits and six runs over five innings with six strikeouts, six walks and a hit batter.
The Broncos took a lead they would never relinquish with three runs in the top of the first and they built the lead to 9-1 with three more runs in each of the second and third innings.
Hampden Academy scored all three of its first-inning runs with two outs as Facchini and Charlie Tardif collected run-scoring singles and the third run scored on a dropped fly ball.
Parker’s double was the only hit in the second inning but there were two walks, a hit batsman and an error.
The Broncos parlayed singles by Aubrey Shaw, Charlee Chute and Parker, two walks and two errors into the three-run third-inning rally.
Junior Gabby Raymond belted her first ever homer in the second for Bangor and the Rams added two in the third and one in the fourth to pull within 9-4.
Singles by Eva Coombs and Gabby Goding, Clark’s sacrifice fly and Cassidy Richardson’s run-scoring single accounted for the third-inning runs and a wild pitch produced the fourth-inning run.
The Broncos broke the game open with nine runs in the fifth as Facchini had a two-run double and a single in the inning and the Broncos also received RBI singles from Meghan Delahanty and Piper Parker and a base hit from Gabric as well.
Raymond had an RBI single to go with her solo homer for Bangor. Clark had a pair of sacrifice flies.
“The score wasn’t indicative of how we played,” said Bangor coach Sophia Sciarappa. “We had some errors but Taylor pitched a great game and we made some great defensive plays as well. And I thought we competed in the (batter’s) box.
“Hampden swings the bats and they hit the ball hard but we need to make plays behind Taylor,” added Sciarappa whose team committed six errors.
Bangor will host 3-1 Edward Little of Auburn on Friday at 4:30 while Hampden Academy will entertain 2-2 Lewiston on Saturday at 1.
