The Wilton-Lyndborough Warriors found themselves in a seesaw battle during Thursday’s contest against Portsmouth Christian Academy, but in the end the visitors prevailed 9-6.

Under threatening skies, the Eagles drew first blood when leadoff hitter Isabella Stevens was hit by a pitch, and a fielder's choice followed by a wild pitch and sacrifice fly brought her home. The Eagles ended up with a crooked number on the board before Warriors catcher Hayden Paquette ended the rally by grabbing a popup behind home plate.

WLC answered in its half of the first when senior Maddie Clough showed patience at the plate for a walk, moved to second on a bunt single by Kelsey Crouse, and with the bases loaded, Hayden Paquette brought them home with a triple to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

Portsmouth Christian played station-to-station softball with a series of singles that evened the score, and Eva Roy's snagging of a rope hit to left field kept it that way. Pitcher Eila O'Toole helped herself by fielding a comebacker to the mound to end the inning. 

Portsmouth Christian pitcher Marion Spur settled down and handcuffed WLC hitters with her speed and placement, striking out the side in the third. O'Toole helped herself again in the next inning, squeezing a popup on the mound, and in the bottom half of that inning, Delaney Dowling demonstrated the value of hustle. Dashing to first base on a dropped third strike, she stole second, reached third on a fielder's choice and along with another Warrior, scored on a passed ball, fueling momentum that gave WLC a 6-3 lead.

Izzy Sweet moved from right to left field in the fourth frame, and kept the score where it was by hanging onto a tricky fly ball for a snow cone. In the Warriors’ half of the inning, Dowling again reached base, this time via a base on balls, and was moved along with an infield hit, but was left on third when Spur notched her third strikeout of the inning.

The Warriors’ battery kept them ahead in the fifth when Paquette went to the backstop to snag a popup, and O'Toole ended the inning with a quick strikeout.

In the sixth, Portsmouth Christian's Lexi Jordan launched a double to left that scored a run, and she crossed the plate herself after a mental error in the Warrior infield. An Eagle was called out for leaving the base early during a steal attempt, and Maddie Clough battled a slow infield and black flies to grab a dribbler at third to end the inning with a strong throw to first, but PCA had taken the lead 7 -6.

A Portsmouth Christian rope to left field, a passed ball and an infield hit set the table for damage, and PCA’s Lexi Anderson delivered it with another infield hit, which combined with some miscommunication on a popup, allowed the Eagles to pad their lead with two more runs. Lexi Jordan came in from center field to close and got the Warriors 1-2-3 in the seventh.