WINTHROP — The Winthrop softball team knew it would be facing a tough challenge in Mt. Abram ace Adrianna Stinchfield when the teams met in a Class C South prelim game Tuesday afternoon.

So when the righty retired the first six batters she faced, the Ramblers didn’t panic. Instead, they were patient, and then they capitalized on a myriad of Mt. Abram errors to pull out a 9-2 victory.

“We didn’t wait for the big hit tonight,” said Winthrop coach Chuck Gurney. “We stole some bases, put some speed at the top of the order, and it all worked its way out.”

Over the course of the seven innings, the Ramblers stole five bases, but it was their ability to pounce on Mt. Abram in the third and fourth innings that made the difference.

The Ramblers broke open a scoreless game with a pair of runs in the third inning.

Winthrop catcher Lydia Rice scored the first run, coming home on an error after being hit by a Stinchfield pitch and stealing second. Ella Rice — Lydia’s sister — reached on a bunt and then stole second before coming home on another Mt. Abram error to make it a 2-0 game.

Backed with the lead, Winthrop pitcher Lauryn Wood then struck out the side in the top of the fourth.

“When we have a pitch that’s on, it’s really on,” said Wood. “It’s easier when you have a girl behind the plate (Lydia Rice) that you’ve been working with since we were 7 or 8.”

Winthrop never looked back from there. The Ramblers tacked on six additional runs in the fourth, aided by a pair of Mt. Abram errors, two wild pitches, and two stoles bases. Winthrop scored again in the sixth, courtesy of some crafty baserunning from shortstop Maddie Perkins.

Mt. Abram’s Josey Arms and Abi Wiley scored in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, to make it a 9-2 game.

“We just let it get to our heads a little bit,” Mt. Abram coach Bridget Blood said. “We got down on ourselves. A lot of the times we beat ourselves more than the other team does, and that’s what happened (Tuesday).”