The Walpole Girls Varsity softball played Dedham on Friday, April 27th. The game was close at first until Dedham’s bats came alive and they pulled away from Walpole, with a final score of 11-2.
At the plate, Walpole was slow to get their bats going to create scoring opportunities. Walpole batters were caught swinging on the high pitches that the Dedham pitcher was clever to throw, earning her three strikeouts on account of those pitches. In the first two innings, she was able to hold on to a no hitter.
Like Walpole, Dedham did not perform their best at the plate for the first two innings, setting up a pitcher’s duel. They were only able to get two hits off off sophomore Stephanie Sem and the Walpole infield, who were making exceptional plays.
By the third inning, Walpole woke up and were able to put two runs on the board. Junior Jess Cochrane hit a double, followed by junior Jenelle Caskie, who bunted the ball and was safe at first due to an error, moving Cochrane to third. Caskie stole second while sophomore Lauren Regan was up to bat. Regan then got a single allowing Cochrane and Caskie to score.
With the score 2-0, Dedham batters did not see losing as an option. They were getting solid hits but juniors Bridget Nicholson and Cochrane made key plays to get two outs in the third inning. The next batter was walked and soon a Dedham batter hit her home, making the score 2-1.
Walpole could not seem to get another good inning like the third. In the fourth inning there was only one hit. Caskie was walked and soon found herself on third base after a hit from Regan. The Dedham pitcher had two strike outs to end the inning, getting out of a jam with two runners on base for Walpole.
Dedham, only having a one point lead, came into the inning craving more runs. They got two hits and three runs that inning. The Walpole defense was not able to make plays that were needed to stop those three runs from scoring. The game started to change from a defensive duel to a Dedham hit-parade, with the score now 4-1.
Knowing they could still come back, Walpole tried to get some hits that could potentially turn into runs. However, the Dedham pitcher and infield were unstoppable. They only faced three Walpole batters to end a quick inning with no hits or runs.
Dedham did not want to stop there at a 3 point lead, they wanted more. The lead off batter started off the inning with a home run. Sem tired to shake it off and get the next batter, but she gave up a walk, setting up a two-run home run. Dedham’s bats were on fire. The homer was followed by a triple and then a double to bring in another run. After scoring five runs, Dedham led by a score of 9-1.
Down by 8, Walpole was discouraged. Their bats were dead and Dedham’s were alive. Walpole could not get any hits to rally back. At the top of the sixth inning, Dedham scored two more runs to make the score 11-2. Walpole had their last up to bats but the Dedham pitcher stopped them from even getting one hit. The Dedham picther ended off the game with a strike out, leaving Walpole devastated by the big loss.
