Spartans nip Kennett in eight innings

Published Date Written by Lloyd Jones

CONWAY — After two meetings this season it's clear the Kennett High and White Mountains softball teams are pretty darn even. The Eagles won 3-2 on their home diamond last month and the Spartans got a measure of revenge Monday with a 7-6 victory in eight innings in Whitefield.

There will be no third meeting between these schools who are clearly both playoff-bound. Kennett is 7-2 in Division II while White Mountains is 7-1 in Division III.

KHS fell behind 4-0 in the first inning and had to battle back all afternoon eventually tying the game with two runs in the top of the seventh inning.

"It was an uphill battle all day," Peter Ames, Eagles' head coach, said. "It's tough to fight back when you're the visiting team and they're a pretty good team. It wasn't like we played poorly, we just got beat. I thought we did some things well like swing the bats. We ended up with a dozen hits. ...If we can play good teams like we did Monday, we'll be okay."

Kennett is currently tied for fourth in the standings with Coe-Brown Northwood Academy. Hollis-Brookline is the lone undefeated team at 8-0.

After falling behind 4-0, the Eagles rallied for three runs in the third inning. The Spartans tacked on a run in the fourth to lead 5-3. Kennett pulled a run back in the fifth only to see the hosts score a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth to lead 6-4 going into the seventh.

Faye Roberts delivered a two-run single with one out in the seventh to knot the game at 6-6.

"We just couldn't come up with one more big hit when we needed it," Ames said. "We left a couple of people on base and were a hit away from taking the lead."

Pitcher Shelby Hill went the distance on the mound and got stronger as the game went on according to Ames.

Kaylin Samia and Jordan Murphy both had three hits in the game while Roberts and Lauren White each had a pair for Kennett.

The Eagles are back on the diamond Wednesday (4 p.m.) when they host Laconia (1-6) and will close out the week on Friday at Kingswood (1-7).