The County Scoreboard: Katahdin, Fort Fairfield Baseball And Houlton Softball Move On

Thursday’s County Scoreboard helped set the next round of the Northern Maine baseball and softball tournaments.

Katahdin baseball and softball both advanced, Fort Fairfield baseball kept its unbeaten season alive, and Houlton softball used a seventh-inning rally to move on in Class C North.

Several County teams also saw their seasons come to a close in the quarterfinal round.

Baseball

Fort Fairfield 8, Schenck 5

Fort Fairfield held off Schenck 8-5 in a Class D North quarterfinal to keep its unbeaten season alive.

The Tigers had to answer more than once. Schenck struck first, then went back in front in the fifth, but Fort Fairfield responded.

Jacob Edgecomb had two hits, including an inside-the-park home run. Graedon King doubled and scored, Lucas Cormier singled and scored twice, and Eric Helstrom drove in a run.

Cayden Ala helped close it out on the mound, and Fort Fairfield moves on to the Class D North semifinals.

Katahdin 4, Machias 3

Katahdin held off Machias 4-3 to reach the Class D North semifinals.

Machias took a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Cougars answered immediately. Bryten Hartsgrove walked, Calvin Richardson doubled, and Conor Schmidt tied the game with a two-run triple.

Schmidt added an RBI single in the third, and Matthew Keim drove in the eventual winning run in the fourth.

Richardson worked through the late innings and retired Machias in order in the seventh, finishing the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

Katahdin will travel to Bangor Christian on Saturday for the semifinals.

Bangor Christian 16, Hodgdon 6

Bangor Christian advanced with a 16-6 win over Hodgdon.

Dan Henderson had a two-RBI triple for the Hawks, while Finn Gardiner added a two-RBI double to lead Hodgdon offensively.

Hodgdon finishes the season 9-9.

Bangor Christian will host Katahdin on Saturday.

Softball

Houlton 7, Mattanawcook Academy 5

Houlton rallied late to beat Mattanawcook Academy 7-5 in the Class C North quarterfinals.

The Lady Shires led 2-0 early behind an RBI single from Amelia Flewelling and a solo home run from Mylee Sylvia, but Mattanawcook came back and led 5-3 after five innings.

Houlton got one run back in the sixth on a Lainey Henderson RBI double, then scored three times in the seventh.

Flewelling delivered the go-ahead two-run double, and Leah Swallow followed with an RBI double to make it 7-5.

Amelya Matwyko closed it out in the circle, and the Lady Shires move on to the Class C North semifinals.

Houlton will be on the road Saturday to face Central, which upset Washington Academy 4-2 in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

Katahdin 11, Stearns 1

Katahdin softball opened its tournament run with an 11-1 win over Stearns in the Class D North quarterfinals.

The Lady Cougars move on to host Machias on Saturday in the semifinals.

Machias advanced by holding off a late rally from No. 14 Woodland, winning 11-10.

Penquis 21, Fort Fairfield 3

Penquis advanced with a 21-3 win over Fort Fairfield in the Class D North quarterfinals.

Penquis will face Penobscot Valley in the other Class D North semifinal on Saturday.

The loss ends Fort Fairfield’s softball season.

Gardiner 7, Presque Isle 2

Gardiner advanced with a 7-2 win over Presque Isle in a rain-shortened six-inning Class B North quarterfinal.

The loss brings Presque Isle’s softball season to a close.

Saturday Semifinals Taking Shape

Saturday’s semifinal schedule will have plenty of County interest.

Katahdin baseball will travel to Bangor Christian. Fort Fairfield baseball is also moving on after holding off Schenck.

On the softball side, Katahdin will host Machias, while Houlton will travel to Central after both teams pulled out quarterfinal wins.

The tournament field is getting smaller, but The County still has teams playing.

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