Staff Writer

It was new face versus old friends during the Scarborough Red Storm’s recent softball victory against the Deering Rams.

Scarborough defeated Deering 3-2 at Payson Park Monday afternoon. The game was highlighted by Scarborough freshman pitcher Mo Hannan, who pitched a complete game, recording 17 strikeouts, including the final seven batters of the game.

Hannan said she wasn’t sure if her outing was the greatest game she has ever pitched.

“I don’t know, I’ve been doing it for a while,” she said.

The game also featured former Scarborough student and Rams pitcher Melissa Bell, who transferred to Deering before the start of the school year.

The game started with both pitchers throwing two scoreless innings. The Red Storm would end scoreless tie in the third inning, when Jenn Colpitts hit a single to centerfield to bring home Catie Funk, making the score 1-0.

Bell came into a spell of wildness in the fourth inning. After giving up singles to Red Storm hitters Abby Pelletier and Melissa Dellatorre, she would walk or hit the next four batters, which allowed Dellatorre and catcher Heather Carrier to score, giving Scarborough a 3-0 lead.

 The Rams would strike back in the bottom of the fourth when second baseman Ellie Winslow hit a line drive over rightfielder Abby Rutt’s head and sped around the bases for an inside the park home run to cut the lead to 3-1.

Deering would get another inside the park home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as catcher AnnaLisa Feriante smacked a line drive to left field and lumbered around the bases to make the score 3-2.

Hannan said she continued to try to stay focused after giving up the two home runs.

“Especially after the second one, I just had to buckle down,” Hannan said.

Hannan would indeed buckle down, as she struck out eight of the remaining nine hitters in the game following Feriante’s homer.

“She did great,” Scarborough softball coach Tom Griffin said. “We had Dellatorre ready [to finish the game], but we wanted to give Mo a chance to close it out.”

Bell was also able to settle down, pitching all seven innings for the Rams and finishing with six strikeouts.

“We always use to call Melissa ‘Controlled Wildness,’” Griffin said. “She just keeps you off balance. She gave her team a chance to win, and to pitch against her teammates and her friends is not easy to do.”

Bell said she was excited to play against her old teammates.

“You know what they say, you want to beat your friends more than anyone,” she said.

Bell said she was happy with how the Rams performed.

“I think we did really well,” she said. “We tried to stay focused and do the best we could, and I think the score reflected that.”

Offensive leaders for the Red Storm included Funk and Rutt, who each contributed with a run batted in, and Pelletier, who went 2-2 with two singles. 

Besides Feriante and Winslow’s home runs, shortstop Jennifer Lynch would get the only other base hit on the day for Deering.

Scarborough, who had a 5-0 record following the game, played against Westbrook on Wednesday, and will travel today, May 8, to Windham to play against the Eagles. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Deering, who finished the game with a 1-4 record, face off at Payson Park today against the Portland Bulldogs.

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219