Maxwell softball wins third straight title; baseball team loses 6-5

The Maxwell High softball team wrapped up its third consecutive Northern Section title after blasting Hayfork 14-0 in the Division IV championship game in Maxwell on Saturday.

The No. 2-seeded Lady Panthers scored eight runs in the second inning and added four more in the third to end the game early due to the 10-run rule.

Ashley Azevedo drove in four runs and Shelen Boyes added two RBIs for Maxwell, which ended the year with a 21-1 record.

Allison Costa struck out five, walked one and allowed six hits to record the win.

BASEBALL

Division V Championship

Fall River 6, Maxwell 5, 9 innings

A familiar foe felled the hopes of the Panthers in the Northern Section Division V champ onship game.

Fall River outlasted the Panthers in a nine-inning marathon at Butte College in Oroville and prevented Maxwell from winning its third consecutive title.

The Panthers found themselves trailing late in the game, but used a three-run sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead, but Fall River retook the lead with three runs in the seventh.

Maxwell (18-8) sent the game into extra innings with a two-run comeback in the bottom half of the inning to tie it 5-5, but a costly mental mistake and an error led to the Bulldogs' winning run in the top of the ninth.

Blake Vierra led the Panthers hitters with three hits and pitched admirably for five innings in relief. Vierra struck out seven but allowed five runs, three earned, and gave up seven hits.

Starting pitcher Zach Troughton allowed one run in four innings but had to relinquish his spot on the mound because he pitched six innings in the Panthers' semifinal victory on Tuesday. Troughton struck out four and allowed four hits.

David Lee singled twice and drove in a run, and Brett Cabral singled and walked for Maxwell, which collected eight hits, six walks and four hit batters off Fall River's pitchers.

The Panthers committed two errors in the top of the seventh which contributed to three runs and the winning run scored on an error in the ninth. All told, Maxwell made six errors.

Fall River (17-6) beat Maxwell for the title in 2008 and 2009 before the Panthers beat Tulelake in 2010 and 2011.