On Wednesday May 9 and Thursday May 17 Walpole Girls Softball played Wellsley and Framingham. Walpole came out of both games with a victory, making their record 12-5
To start off the Wellsley game Walpole was up to bat first. Sophomore Lauren Regan singled and soon was advanced by a hit from junior Bridget Nicholson. Regan and Nicholson both made it home through errors and pass balls. Junior Sam McChesney also got a hit to get on base then junior Britney Mcgraw layed down a bunt and was called safe at first. With two runners on base junior Jess Cochrane sent the ball flying over the outfield for a triple and drove in two runs. Walpole came out of the gates hitting well, allowing them to take a 4-0 lead.
The Walpole defense was flawless for three innings. Sophomore Steph Sem was throwing heat and hitting her spots, allowing no runs and only two hits. When Wellseley hit the ball Walpole’s infielders made the plays quickly and cleanly and the outfielders did not let any balls get pass them.
In the second and third inning for Walpole’s up to bats they scored twice making the score 6-0. Regan got on base, a dangerous situation for Wellesley becuase finds a way to steal bases and get into scoring position. Regan scored for Walpole and Sophomore Mehron Hoag hit an RBI, sending McChesney home.
For one inning, however, Walpole slipped a little defensively. The first two batters for Wellseley got base hits and ended up making it home. The next batter got a triple which cleared the bases, sending two girls home. Wellseley’s bats came alive for just this inning but Walpole was able to keep a two run lead.
With the score being 6-4 Walpole wanted to get an even bigger lead. In the fourth inning Walpole still had good hits in them. Regan made it on base all four times she got up to the plate and she made it home three out of those four times. Junior Lauren Bodin got the usual solid triple and was brought in by McChesney. McChesney was then scored on a RBI hit from Mcgraw. The score now was 9-4 giving Walpole the bigger lead they wanted.
Walpole managed to get another run in their second to last up to bat. The Walpole defense played their A game to keep Wellseley from getting any runs in the last innings. Sem only allowed Wellseley to get three hits and she had four strikeouts in the last three innings. Walpole’s fielders were once again on their toes which let them make the plays. The final score was 10-4.
A week later, Walpole came into the Framingham game knowing that they were a good team and that one mistake could mean a loss for them. Framingham’s record was 12-3 going into the game and Walpole’s was 11-5.
Framingham, being the away team, stepped up to the plate first. The first batter for Framingham slapped the ball, but Walpole’s third baseman junior Jess Cochrane made the play. The second Framingham batter hit a single and was called safe at first. Sophomore Steph Sem struck out the next batter. The clean up hitter hit the ball allowing the lead runner to advance to third. A pass ball allowed the runner on third to steal home. With two outs the girl was called safe and the runner from second tried to score another run but was thrown out by junior Jenelle Caskie.
Walpole had some trouble at the beginning of their first up to bats, with two strike outs, and Bodin being walked and then left on base after a pop out to end the inning. When Framingham stepped up to bat next, Sem shut them down with five strike outs in two innings. It was not untill the third inning when Walpole started scoring. The bases were loaded because of two walks by the Framingham pitcher and a single by Regan. Bodin shot a hard grounder to the third baseman who stepped on third and threw to second to make a double play, but allowed Regan to get the first run of the game.
In the Framingham’s up at bat in the fourth inning Walpole got three outs in only four quick batters. However, Framingham retaliated and got three outs in four batters as well. Regan made two amazing catches in the fifth inning, stopping Framinham from scoring any runs. For Walpole’s up at bat, the fifth inning was started off with a walk. Nicholson hit a bomb, giving her a triple and and RBI. Framingham’s pitcher then walked two people, loading the bases for Mcgraw who hit a single, scoring senior Katie Cavaca and Nicholson.
With the score 4-1, Walpole allowed Framingham to get two hits in the sixth inning but they were left on base. This was not a big enough lead for Walpole, so the batters did not let down and got two more runs by errors and stolen bases. Walpole finished Framingham’s last ups quickly after four batters and ended the game with a score of 6-1 and a Walpole victory.
