SKOWHEGAN — Cony senior Skyler Watson figures she pitched a total of about one game last season when all her innings were pieced together.
Wednesday, the left-hander made the most of an opening-day start, limiting Skowhegan to five hits in a 4-2 victory.
Watson may have been waiting for her chance to pitch but not idly.
“It feels really good,” Watson said. “I’ve been spending my winters, summers, every season there is to get ready for pitching. I pitch for two hours every Sunday morning.”
Watson allowed five hits — three to freshman lead-off hitter Maliea Kelso — walked one and struck out three.
“We’re working on the corners a lot and my change-up is getting better,” Watson said. “And I have my awesome fielders to back me up.”
The Indians got good pitching performances from sophomore Ashley Alward, who went the first three innings, and freshman Sydney Ames, who pitched the final four.
“That will happen a lot,” Skowhegan coach Lee Johnson said of the pitching decision. “I don’t think it was a sharp game for us, but Cony played a good ballgame and definitely deserved to win.”
The Indians scored a run in the first when Kelso led off with an infield hit and later scored on a sharp single up the middle from Eliza Bedard. The Rams took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning, two scored on an error. Jaime Coull started the rally with a one-out double to deep left. Sydney Cheever drew a walk and Kasidy Turgeon was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Autumn Sudsbury followed with a base hit to left to score Coull, but there was a mix-up on the cutoff throw from the outfield and the ball skipped into Cony’s dugout, plating two more runs.
“It was a mess-up in both areas, really,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, it was a play that really changed the game.”
The Rams made it 4-2 in the fifth when Cheever walked, went to third on a single from Sudsbury and scored on a base hit by Delaney Keithley. Sudsbury collected three of Cony’s hits while Cheever scored a pair of runs.
Wylie Bedard doubled home a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-2 and the Indians threatened for more when Kelso led off the sixth with a booming triple over Coull’s head in center field. But Watson escaped damage when Kelso tried to score on a ground ball to Sudsbury at short and was thrown out at home.
“Usually I’d throw it to first,” Sudsbury said. “But the girl should have waited until I threw. It was a good heads-up play and Allee (Cloutier) was there to make the tag.”
Ames made an impressive debut in her four innings of work. After a couple of early walks she settled in and struck out seven, mixing a lively fastball with an excellent change-up. Watson had the Indians hitting the ball in the air, 12 times in all. While most the outs were routine, the Rams got a couple of big plays in the outfield, one a running catch to end the first by freshman Alexis Couverette in right and another from Coull in center.
“The kids played great,” Cony coach Rocky Gaslin said. “I just thought we left too many runners on (nine) and took too many third strikes down the pike. The defense was good today, that’s for sure.”
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