Click here for a Photo Gallery from King Philip vs. Needham softball at the PAL Fields, 6-6-23.
Category: Softball
Walsh and Defense Carry KP into Sweet Sixteen
PLAINVILLE, Mass. – King Philip was in a groove at the end of the regular season. Although the final game was an extra innings loss to Bridgewater-Raynham, the Warriors had won the previous 10, including a title-clinching victory over Taunton, with eight shutouts.
It is hard to carry momentum into the playoffs when you’ve been waiting 10 days between games.
On Tuesday afternoon at the PAL Fields, KP showed more than a little rust at the plate, but got another stellar pitching performance from freshman McCoy Walsh, allowing two hits and one run while striking out 15, and a couple of solid plays in the field to put away No. 31 Needham and advance to the Div. 1 Sweet Sixteen.
“We do some live pitching obviously at practice for BP and stuff and we do soft toss but there is that game situation piece that you are kind of missing,” KP coach Kate Fallon-Comeau admitted. “We did do postseason scrimmages but you don’t know when you’re going to play and you don’t want to schedule too many and it turned out we sat for quite a while.”
While the KP bats may need a game to warm up, Walsh looked ready to go right from the start. She struck out 10 of the first 11 batters that she faced. Needham hit a fly ball to left to start the second and then got its first hit with two outs in the fourth on a single by Kelsey Pittman. Walsh got Maddie Baker to ground out to second to end the inning.
“It was a little frustrating not to be able to get those insurance runs and you’re used to having that little cushion, but I thought McCoy did great in the circle,” Fallon-Comeau said. “She really stepped up for us.”
The Warriors wasted no time getting in front but wasted a chance to break the game open. Sarah Cullen led off with a single to right and stole second. With one out, Cullen came in to score on a base hit to right by Libby Walsh. Charlotte Raymond followed with a single and the two advanced on a pitch in the dirt.
Ava Kelley reached on a fielder’s choice to the third baseman, who tried to draw Walsh off the bag before throwing across the diamond. Amanda Ferreira got a strikeout and a comebacker to get herself out of the jam.
In the second, Taylor Regan’s long fly to right center found the grass and ended up as a leadoff triple. Again, Ferreira was able to bear down with a runner in scoring position, getting a grounder to second and a hard hit liner right at the shortstop. Freshman Ali Gill came through with two outs, singling to left to make sure KP got the run home for a 2-0 lead.
KP continued to get base runners without looking particularly comfortable or dangerous at the plate. Kelley beat out an infield single in the third but was caught stealing. The following inning, Jordan Bennett was aggressive with two outs, turning a hit in shallow left into a double, but a grounder to second ended the inning.
Fallon-Comeau said, “We were just missing it, hitting it right at people. Kudos to the Needham pitcher, she pitched herself a great game today.”
With two outs in the fifth, KP put together a little two-out rally. Raymond dropped a single into right and then Kelley hustled to get an infield hit, but again Ferreira escaped as Liv Petrillo made solid contact but her deep fly to center stayed in the park.
The Warriors weren’t helping out Walsh offensively, but they were flashing the leather. Raymond made a nice running grab in left center to end the fifth, Walsh helped herself with a diving snag of a popped up bunt in front of home plate with a runner on in the sixth, and Gill tracked a long fly ball to just in front of the warning track to end that inning.
KP added an important insurance run in the sixth. Maddie Paschke ripped one past the shortstop for a leadoff hit. With Ava Lanza in as a courtesy runner for the catcher, she moved to second on a bouncer back to the mound. Bennett stung a liner right at the third baseman, whose attempt to double off Lanza ended up in right field.
With a runner at third, Cullen hit a roller up the first base line that wasn’t fielded cleanly and allowed the run to score.
As the rain rolled in and the temperature dropped, Gill made another great grab to start the seventh, snaring a sinking liner to right. The next batter, Baker, turned on a Walsh pitch and crushed it over the fence in left to cut the lead to two.
Fallon-Comeau explained, “I knew that kid could rake, and I thought whatever, 3-0 lead, seventh inning, throw to her because [McCoy’s] going to have to face good hitters like that a lot, and I think she kind of grooved one there for her and she put it well over the foul pole.”
There was no need to be too concerned about Walsh or the lead, as the rookie struck out the next two Needham hitters to close out the win and send KP to the next round.
“Hopefully we’ve dusted the cobwebs off a little bit and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Fallon-Comeau said. “Not much time in between after sitting for so long, but it is what it is. It’s the playoffs, we’re just happy to be here and hopefully we can take care of business.”
King Philip (21-2) will have a quick turnaround, as the Warriors host No. 15 Chelmsford at the PAL Fields on Wednesday.
Player of the Week: Lauren Eby, Attleboro Softball
By HockomockSports.com Staff
Attleboro senior Lauren Eby has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, for May 29 through June 4. Eby is the 31st player chosen as Player of the Week for the 2022-23 school year and ninth in the spring season.
Eby came through with her best day at the plate this season to lift Attleboro to a come from behind win over Andover in the Div. 1 Round of 32 at Drummond St. Field. The Bombardiers fell behind early, but Eby hit a pair of homer runs, her first of the season, and drove in five to send Attleboro cruising into the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row.
Andover had the upset on its mind when it showed up on Sunday morning and the visitors took an early lead with a three-run homer in their first at-bat. Eby helped settled Attleboro’s nerves in the bottom half of the inning. After Lily Routhier reached on a two-out infield single, Eby crushed a pitch over the fence in right center to cut the lead to just one. The score stayed the same until the third when Eby stepped up again, this time smacking a three-run homer to straight away center that put the Bombardiers ahead 5-3, a lead they would never relinquish. Those homers sparked an offensive explosion for Attleboro, which scored 13 straight runs and rolled to a 17-4 win. Eby finished with four hits, two homers, four runs scored, and five RBI.
The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.
Lauren Eby
Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Lauren Eby The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.
Softball Photos: North Attleboro vs. Norwood
First Inning Rally Enough for North to Reach Sweet 16
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Norwood knew what to expect when it traveled to North Attleboro for Monday afternoon’s Div. 2 Round of 32 matchup at Kelly Field.
Runs were going to be at a premium against Hockomock League MVP Kelly Colleran, so the Mustangs were going to need to take advantage of any opportunity to get runners on base and put pressure on the Rocketeers by keeping them off the board for as long as possible.
The game plan went out the window in North’s first plate appearance. The Rocketeers batted around in the first, scoring four runs to take control of the game and then rode yet another stellar performance from Colleran in the circle (one hit allowed and 18 strikeouts) for a 5-0 victory and a return to the Sweet Sixteen.
“We hadn’t played in a week and a half and that first inning was huge and the way we did it too, we were hitting, running,” said North coach Bill Wallace. “Then we sort of went dry for a while.”
He added, “I think the challenge for Kelly today was that two weeks ago she pitched four games in five days and then she had nine days off, but the kid’s played so much ball, she’s so smart, that a minor adjustment here, a tweak there and she’s back in form.”
Norwood got a runner on against Colleran in the first. A one-out error gave the Mustangs a little life and a little hope, but Maryellen Charette fired a strike to catch Liz Helmar trying to steal third and ended the inning.
The Mustangs planned on pitching around Colleran but with two strikes she got a good pitch to hit and started the bottom of the first with a line drive double over the centerfielder’s head. Arianna McDavitt followed with a single to right that brought home the first run.
McDavitt stole second to get into scoring position and would scamper home with the second run on a single by Molly Willey. Charette was hit by a pitch to put two on (and Mary Rogers came in as a courtesy runner). A groundout moved the runners up and Lucy Palmer drew a walk to load the bases.
Grace Simmons would pick up an RBI when Norwood attempted to get the lead runner at the plate but the throw was late. Grace Forman ripped a line drive to left that was hauled in for the second out, but was deep enough to score the fourth run. Maddie Bailey nearly dropped a hit into right but a nice running grab ended the inning.
Colleran settled into her start, striking out the side in the second and the fifth and striking out a pair in the third and the fourth. The only contact from Norwood was a bunt that Willey handled cleanly and a grounder to Palmer at first.
In the sixth inning, Colleran struck out the first three batters but the third one got past Charette to allow Norwood only its second base runner. Colleran made sure it didn’t matter by recording her fourth K of the inning.
North added a run in the fourth. Colleran was intentionally walked for second time in the game and moved to second on a fielder’s choice from McDavitt. Willey’s grounder to the right side moved both runners into scoring position and Charette followed by dropping a single into right. Colleran scored easily but a perfect relay cut down McDavitt at the plate.
“They’re kind of used to it,” Wallace said about how his lineup reacted to Norwood’s strategy of putting Colleran on. “She was intentionally walked 11 times this year. She was walked with the bases loaded one game. She’s got to stay inside herself, she’s chomping at the bit to try and do something but when you’re awarded first base there’s only so much you can do.”
The insurance run kept things comfortable even as Norwood put together a small rally in the seventh. Helmar reached for the second time on a controversial call at first. Willey made a nice backhand play down the third-base line but the ump said that Palmer had come off the bag at first.
Colleran kept firing, blowing away the next batter and then pulled the string on a 3-2 changeup for the second out. After hitting a batter to put two on, Colleran finished off the win with her 18th strikeout of the game.
“One of our strategies, we have Molly play so close [at third], she’s 30 feet from the plate, and it discourages teams from bunting,” Wallace explained. “The few times that they do she usually shuts it down and once you’re swinging away against Kelly it’s usually not successful.”
North Attleboro (16-5) will face No. 12 Nashoba on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30.
Softball Photos: Attleboro vs. Andover
Attleboro Lineup Lifts Off and Powers Past Andover
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – During the regular season, Attleboro hit only one home run as a team. On Sunday morning at the Drummond St. Field, the Bombardiers started their playoff run by hitting three, including the first two homers of the season from senior Lauren Eby.
The power surge at the plate helped overcome and upset-minded Andover, which took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Attleboro scored 13 straight runs and rolled to a 17-4 victory in five innings, advancing to the Div. 1 Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row.
“Obviously there is a little concern there,” said Attleboro coach Mark Homer about falling behind early. “In the first couple of innings we’ve had trouble getting going sometimes. A lot of it is nerves. I’ve got a freshman on the mound pitching her first state game, you’ve got to believe she’s a little nervous, but she settled in once our offense made a statement there.”
When asked about responding to a three-run deficit, Eby added, “We’ve done it before, but it’s definitely not something we let get us down. We definitely come back from it, rebuild from it.”
Andover showed no fear at the start of the game and a bench that was already fired up got even louder when Kate Walsh blasted a three-run homer over the fence in right center.
With two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Attleboro answered. Lily Routhier got things started by beating out an infield single to deep short. Eby stepped in and smashed her first homer of the day, in almost the exact same spot as Walsh, to cut the lead down to just one.
It was the perfect response from the home team and a big confidence boost to freshman pitcher Jenna Callahan, who was making her first postseason start. After giving up the homer in the first, Callahan would give up only one more hit and unearned run over the next four innings.
“She was stoic out there today,” Homer said about Callahan. “You don’t see too much expression on her face when things are good or things are bad and that’s self-taught. For her to go out there and work through that situation, that’s what I like about her. Never mind her pitching and her ability to throw the ball, it’s what’s up here.”
Andover got a runner to third in the second, but a fly ball to Sarah Maher in center ended the threat. Callahan started the bottom of the inning with a single to left and Paige Quaglia drew a walk. The runners advanced into scoring position on a ground out, but the Golden Warriors escaped the jam by picking a runner off at third and getting a bouncer back to the circle.
Callahan pitched around a leadoff walk in the third and Attleboro’s bats came alive in the bottom half to take control of the game.
With one out, Rylie Camacho beat out an infield single, drilling a liner off the third baseman’s glove, and stole second. Routhier followed with her second infield hit of the game. Eby put the Bombardiers in front. She hit a towering fly ball up into the breeze, carrying it over the fence in center for her second homer of the day and her fifth RBI.
“It was definitely a good day to hit those, but when I went up there I really was just looking to hit anything,” Eby explained. “Any little hit would’ve helped us, just to get us started. It was such a great feeling. Everyone’s so supportive.”
Homer noted, “About four or five games ago, we moved Lauren down in the order. She was struggling. Today, I went back to the original from the beginning of the season. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it but it might have made her a little more comfortable being back in that No. 4 spot. To see her do that, and hopefully that continues going forward, we’re going to need that.”
Everything seemed to click for the Attleboro lineup. Emily Eby lined a single to get things started again. Callahan was hit by a pitch and Quaglia drove in one with a single to center. Madison Moran followed with a double to right center, driving in another, and fellow sophomore Lilly McGilvray hit a sac fly to right that scored Quaglia and made it 8-3.
Suddenly pitching with the lead, Callahan looked more comfortable and seemed to be throwing harder. Maher hauled in a deep fly ball to start the fourth and then Callahan struck out the next two batters.
“This season, she’s blown me away,” Eby said about Callahan. “I’ve seen her since she was little and to see her out here on the mound and playing with her, I’m really proud of her.”
Camacho led off the fourth by crushing one over the fence in left. Routhier reached on an error and Lauren Eby this time stayed in the park, lining a single to right center. A walk to Emily Eby loaded the bases and Callahan drew a walk to bring in a run. A low throw on a play at the plate allowed Lauren Eby to score and Emily followed right behind on a single by Moran. McGilvray made it 13-3 with a single of her own.
Andover kept pushing and got a base runner with a one-out error. A double would bring the run across, but Callahan stranded one in scoring position by getting a pop up to Routhier at short.
The Bombardiers put the game away in the fifth. Routhier walked to reach base for the fourth time and Eby got her fourth hit of the day on a single to center. Callahan plated one with a single, Quaglia did the same, and then Moran brought in a pair (her third and fourth RBI of the day) with a double to right.
Homer said, “Finally, we got around the second time through on their pitcher. Everyone responded today.
Eby remarked, “I think we’re all really connected. We’ve known each other for so long and we’ve grown up with each other and I think once one person gets it started we build from it and just keep it going.”
Attleboro (13-8) will wait to see who it faces in the next round. The Bombardiers will face the winner of No. 7 Bishop Feehan and No. 26 Braintree.
Softball Photos: Stoughton vs. Marlboro
Softball Photos: Milford vs. Medford
Hockomock Softball Playoff Seeds & Matchups
Below are the seeds and matchups for Hockomock teams in the MIAA playoffs. Seeds, times, and dates are subject to change and we will update this post with any changes.
Division 1
#2 King Philip (20-2) will host the winner of #31 Needham (8-10)/#34 Everett (18-2) on Monday, 6/5 at 3:45.
#3 Taunton (19-1) will host the winner of #30 Shrewsbury (8-12)/#35 Wellesley (10-8) on Monday, 6/5 at 7:00.
#10 Attleboro (12-8) will host #23 Andover (8-12) on Sunday, 6/4 at 11:00AM.
#19 Franklin (9-11) will travel to #14 Westford Academy (10-6) on Monday, 6/5 at 5:00.
#28 Milford (7-13) will host #37 Medford (14-6) on Friday, 6/2 at 3:00.
Division 2
#5 North Attleboro (15-5) will host the winner of #28 Norwood (10-8)/#37 Amherst-Pelham (16-2) on Sunday, 6/4 at 12:00.
#25 Oliver Ames (9-11) will host #40 High School of Commerce (9-9) on Thursday, 6/1 at 3:00.
#30 Stoughton (9-11) will host #35 Marlboro (11-6) on Saturday, 6/3 at 2:00.
Division 3
#19 Foxboro (9-11) will travel to #14 Medway (12-6) on Friday, 6/2 at 3:30.