Walpole softball faced off against Bridgwater Raynham, ranked second place in the state, on Saturday, April 20. The game resulted in a 10-0 slaughter by Bridgewater Raynham. Last year the Rebels went 1-1 against Bridgewater Raynham during the regular season and they lost to them in post season, ending their season.
The first inning started off with a hard hit to short stop, resulting in an error and leaving a player on first, who then stole second base on the next pitch. The next batter tried to lay down a bunt, but it was caught by senior captain Jess Cochrane. The next batter got a single, moving the runner over to third base. With runners on first and third, Cochrane makes an out at first, but not before the first run of the game could score. The Rebels got their third out with a pop up to shortstop. Bridgewater Raynham made a quick three outs to end the first inning.
The second inning started off with a single. The next batter hit the ball to senior captain Bridget Nicholson at shortstop, who stepped on second to get the lead runner out. To follow, the second baseman played the ball and threw to first to get the second out. The Rebels ended the inning with a line drive to the pitcher, junior Steph Sem, who made the catch for the third out. As the Rebels stepped up to the plate, Cochrane got out at first, followed by a walk for junior Mehron Hoag. However, the next two batters struck out, ending the second inning, leaving Bridgewater Raynham ahead 1-0.
Bridgewater Raynham’s lead off hitter started the third inning off with a single which was then followed by a walk, leaving runners on first and second. The next batter layed down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. The clean up hitter then hit a double, bringing in two runs, and eventually made it home when the next batter hit a single. The Rebels ended with a pop up and strike out, but not before three runs were scored, making the score 4-0. The Rebels, who have not made it on base yet, have another three quick outs, ending the third inning.
Bridgewater Raynham started the fourth inning with a triple, followed by a single, bringing in one run. This runner made it home on RBIs from following batters on her team. The Rebels knew they needed to get the bats swinging if they had any shot at getting back into the game, so senior captain Lauren Bodin stepped up and hit a double, ending the no-hitter and hoping to get the ball rolling for other batters. This was not the case, seeing as Bridgewater Raynham got three quick outs, leading the Rebels by a score of 6-0.
The fifth inning had four walks, one being intentional, and one player hit by a pitch by Sem. This inning was full of wild pitches, including one where the runners from both second and third base scored, showing defeat in the Rebels defense. Bridgewater Raynham ended the game in three quick strike outs and a 10-0 loss for the Rebels.
The Rebels following game, played in Milton on Monday, April 22, had a much more positive outcome for Walpole. The game remained scoreless until the second inning, when Hoag gained momentum for the Rebels with a single, and sophomore Natalie Lydon pinch ran in her place. Lydon stole second, and then third. Senior Brittany McGraw hit a single, bringing in Lydon, and putting the Rebels up 1-o at the top of the second. Senior pitcher Marissa Ryan was able to maintain the Rebel’s one-run lead in the bottom of the second and third.
In the top of the fourth, Hoag and McGraw hit two consecutive singles, but Hoag got out at third. Milton caught a pop-up, giving the Rebels two outs and leaving runners on first and third. Junior Lauren Regan hit a single, bringing in McGraw from third, making the score 2-0 Walpole. With runners on first and second, Nicholson hit a three-run homerun to give the Rebels a large lead of 5-0. Ryan was once again able to prevent Milton from scoring any runs, with help from Cochrane, who made two of the three outs that inning.
The remainder of the game was uneventful, as neither Walpole nor Milton were able to score any more runs. Walpole redeemed themselves with this 5-0 win over Milton. The Rebels are hoping for more wins in their upcoming games to add to their 4-3 record .
