The Pilgrim softball team is hoping to gain some traction after cruising past visiting Cranston West 7-1 in a lopsided battle on Monday afternoon.

The Falcon bats were kept in check by Pilgrim pitcher Gretchen Dombeck, who held them to one run on an RBI single by Sofia Marella in the third inning.

It was all Pilgrim, otherwise, as freshman Skylar Hawes drove in three runs and hit a homer to pace the offense. West’s defense struggled as well, committing two errors, one of which leading to Pilgrim’s first run.

The win lifted Pilgrim to 6-4 and keeps it firmly in the playoff hunt. The young Pilgrim roster surprised the state by jumping out to a 4-1 start but has since come down to earth a bit. After hitting a 1-3 patch leading up to Monday’s game, the Pats were happy to rebound and hope it builds some momentum.

“It boosted our confidence getting a win after a few losses. We learned that we can’t lose energy in the game,” said Genna D’Amato, who praised the team’s defense. “That’s the way we’re going to have to win. We’re going to have to make plays, knock down balls.”

Hawes has been a force at the dish for Pilgrim and delivered once again to add to her impressive freshman season with the two-run homer.

“I went up there looking to just get a line drive or base hit, something simple,” Hawes said.

Dombeck got the win in the circle and finished with seven strikeouts, controlling the game with her off-speed arsenal.

“We felt like it was a good matchup for us since there are a lot of power hitters over there. She’s a power hitter’s kryptonite. We knew she would have to keep them off balance and stick to the plan,” said Pilgrim coach Carlos Rodas.

Pilgrim has another pivotal game coming up when it travels to Coventry to take on the Oakers on Thursday.

“We’ve got to work together as a team and push through. We’re all really young, it took awhile to gel together,” Hawes said.

West coach PJ Bessette felt that the Falcons let their guard down in the loss.

“They were flat. There was no killer instinct, they were just going through the motions. I’m not mad but disappointed. I told them, ‘you’re too good of a team to put that type of effort out there,’” said Bessette after the loss. “Even defensively, we weren’t getting dirty, diving for balls, we blew a bunt coverage. If we didn’t have (pitcher) Mia (Crudale), we’d probably be 0-9 instead of 6-3. She’s a workhorse. We thought it’d be close, but to lose 7-1, we’re a better team than that.”

Crudale pitched six innings and allowed four runs and struck out four batters. Madison Tuirok, Audra McDonnell and Dombeck also drove in runs for Pilgrim.

West has now lost two of its last three games after a scorching start in the opening few weeks. Bessette felt that the team let its guard down taking on a club that was lower in the standings.

“I think it’s just over confidence, seeing that Pilgrim is (5-4) and thinking we’ll beat them. You can’t go into a game just expecting to win, you need to be ready for a dogfight. We’re too good of a team to play like that,” Bessette said.

The Falcons will now take on first-place La Salle on Thursday for a big DI matchup before taking on Prout this weekend.