BREWER, Maine — What started off as a pitchers’ duel wound up being a slugfest.
Senior third baseman Meghan Delahanty belted a two-run homer and sophomore shortstop Cat Facchini stroked two doubles as the Hampden Academy Broncos built an 8-0 lead and they hung on to edge error-prone Brewer High School 8-6 in a Class A North game at wind-swept Coffin Field in Brewer Friday night.
Hampden Academy improved to 11-4 with its fourth straight win, during which the Broncos have scored 42 runs. Hampden beat Brewer 5-2 earlier this month at home.
Brewer is now 9-6 after having its four-game winning streak snapped.
Senior righthander Charlee Chute remained unbeaten against the Witches in her career as she went the distance to earn the win in the Breast Cancer Awareness game.
She allowed 10 hits and six runs while striking out nine and walking two. She threw 142 pitches, 93 of which were strikes.
“It means more to me to beat them because they are such good competition and we know all of their girls. We grew up with them,” Chute said. “I did well but there is always room for improvement.”
Chute benefitted from a quality defensive effort behind her as the Broncos committed just one error. That came when Brewer’s leadoff hitter in the first, Paige Oakes, hit a grounder through first baseman Piper Parker’s legs.
Meanwhile, Brewer committed a season-high eight errors.
“Brewer had good hitters so I tried to work the count. I did my best but I had to rely on my defense and that’s what won it in the end,” Chute said. “Our outfield played great. They knew how to (deal with) the wind.”
Left fielder Mariah Coon, center fielder Kiera Gabric and right fielder Laurali Parker caught all seven balls hit to them while battling the stiff breeze.
The game was scoreless through three innings but Hampden took the lead for good with three runs in the fourth and added five more in the fifth.
Facchini walloped a double to deep right center field to open the fourth and, one out later, Piper Parker, Laurali’s younger sister, hit a sharp single to left and continued to third on left fielder Olivia Gilmore’s throwing error.
Aubrey Shaw hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Jillian Ford, whose errant throw to first allowed Facchini to score.
Parker scored when catcher Jordin Williams dropped the throw to the plate on Coon’s grounder to first and the final run scored on Chute’s infield single to the shortstop hole.
In the fifth, Gabric grounded a single to center and Delahanty followed by launching a 2-2 pitch through the wind and over the left center field fence for her third homer of the season.
“It hit the middle of the bat and when I felt it, I knew it was gone,” Delahanty said. “Our goal is to get on the board early and make good contact and we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
Facchini blooped a double into right center and scored on Addie Worster’s base hit.
The Broncos didn’t get another hit in the inning but the Witches made four errors, which allowed the other two runs to score.
Brewer got three back in the bottom of the fifth on Ford’s two-out, two-run single to center and Emma Jameson’s RBI base hit.
Brewer made things interesting with a three-run rally in the seventh.
Oakes hit a lead-off single and Jameson ripped a run-scoring double over center fielder Gabric’s head with two outs.
Olivia Bragdon grounded a single to left and stole second before Olivia Gilmore delivered a two-run single to left.
But Chute induced a fly ball to left fielder Coon for the final out.
“Charlee is a fighter and she did very well,” Hampden Academy coach Deb Colpitts said. “The girls played a heckuva’ game. I’m very proud of them.”
Delahanty had a single to go with her homer, Facchini had two doubles and the other repeat hitter was Piper Parker with two singles.
Oakes had three base hits for Brewer and Jameson had a double and a single.
Sophomore Sara Young went the distance for Brewer. She gave up 10 hits and eight runs to go with three strikeouts and a walk. She threw 83 strikes among her 119 pitches.
“We didn’t give up,” Brewer coach Skip Estes said. “We hit the ball well. Charlee Chute is a heckuva’ pitcher. She has had our number for two years.”
