Varsity softball’s first game against Foxboro this season was a successful one.  On Friday, April 15, the Rebels took over Foxboro’s home field and ended with a score of 2-1 due to excellent defensive performance.

Foxboro started off the game strong defensively.  Senior Kelsey Cosby led off for Walpole but unfortunately hit a ground ball to Foxboro’s shortstop and was called out at first. Sophomore Bridget Nicholson followed but struck out, and Junior Katie Cavaca ended the half-inning with a pop up to left field.  Walpole then took the field and successfully shut down two batters when first baseman Kelsey Cosby and second baseman Courtney Scully both caught line drives.  Walpole’s pitcher, Freshman Mehron Hoag ended the inning with a strike out, only letting one runner on base despite rude comments from Foxboro fans.

Sophomore Jessica Cochrane started off the next inning with a double, advancing to third on a single hit by senior Tori Richardson.  Sophomore Lauren Bodin then hit a pop up to second base making Walpole’s first out.  Cochrane subsequently scored on a single by Sophomore Jenelle Caskie, who scored on a double by Sophomore Samantha McChesney. McChesney however attempted to steal third base and was called out.  Junior Courtney Scully then struck out, leaving the Rebels up 2-0.  Foxboro’s at-bats were a short half inning starting with a ground ball to first, followed by two strike outs.

Unlike the second inning, the third was not as successful for Walpole.  Cosby lead off but grounded out to first.  Nicholson hit a low line drive that was caught by the third baseman, finishing with a strike out by Cavaca. Foxboro’s lead off hitter attempted a bunt to third base which was quickly scooped up by Cochrane and fired over to Cosby at first. Foxboro’s next batter grounded out to first.  Foxboro’s left fielder then hit a grounder into left field and got onto first, advancing to second on a passed ball during the next batter’s at-bat.  The following batter hit a grounder to third base which was bobbled by Cochrane and the runner was called safe.  Nicholson made the third out, catching a pop up on the third base line.

Lead off batter, Jessica Cochrane hit a grounder to the pitcher and was out at first.  Richardson then attempted to bunt to third base but it was retrieved quickly and she was also called out at first. Bodin was then hit by a pitch and advanced to first and soon onto second when Caskie hit a fly ball into right field and got on first.  McChesney then grounded to short stop for the out at first.  The bottom of the fourth was a strong defensive inning for Walpole.  They started off with a pop up to left field, caught by Tori Richardson.  With a runner on first, another pop up was hit to right field, McChesney missed it but quickly threw the ball to second and got the runner out.  Foxboro’s next batter grounded out to first, leaving Walpole still up 2-0.

Senior Rebecca Lengel took Courtney Scully’s place in the line up and started off the inning with a hit and stole third.  Cosby also got on base, causing Lengel to score.  Nicholson hit a pop up in the outfield on the first base line which was unfortunately caught by Foxboro’s right fielder, but Cosby tagged up and reached second.  She then stole third on a passed ball.  Cavaca then hit a pop up which was caught by Foxboro’s center fielder.  Cochrane ended the half-inning with a low line drive caught by Foxboro’s pitcher.  Getting close to the end and still having no runs, Foxboro came into the bottom of the fifth offensively strong with a need to score.  Foxboro’s pitcher started off the inning with a hard hit ground ball to short stop, which was gracefully fielded by Bridget Nicholson and the runner was out at first.  Next up, a Foxboro player hit a fly ball into left field and got a double, the runner then stole third on a passed ball.  Hoag then showed off her defensive skills, catching a line drive fired at her by Foxboro.  The home team’s next batter then had a hard hit ground ball into left field during which the runner on third scored, putting Foxboro on the board.  The runner then stole second and third.  The next batter hit a ground ball to shortstop and the runner on third tried to score; however, she was caught in a pickle and eventually thrown out at third.  Foxboro ended the inning grounding out at first, leaving the score 2-1.

Left fielder, Tori Richardson led off and got on first base but was unfortunately thrown out at second attempting to steal.  Bodin and Caskie were subsequently thrown out at first on ground balls to Foxboro’s short stop making it a short half inning for the Rebels.  This inning was equally as short for Foxboro as their lead off batter hit ground ball to third base which Jessica Cochrane fired over to first to get the runner out.  A ground ball was then hit near first baseman Kelsey Cosby who while retrieving the ball was backed up by right fielder Samantha McChesney and the runner was thrown out at first.  Nicholson got the third out of the inning, fielding a ground ball over to first base once again.

The seventh inning was another short one for Walpole, consisting of two pop ups to right field and second base, both caught by Foxboro and Kelsey Cosby grounding out at first.  Foxboro started off the inning with a ground ball into left field and the runner was called safe, but was then out at second while trying to steal.  Foxboro then loaded the bases with hits to right field and twice to left field.  Knowing Walpole had to hold them, the next ball was hit to Cochrane at third base and she fired it home to get the second out.  Hoping to then get a runner home, Foxboro hit a high fly ball into center field which was gracefully caught by Lauren Bodin to end the game.

Thanks to strong defense and the excellent pitching of Mehron Hoag, the Walpole Rebels successfully held off Foxboro to win the game, 2-1.