By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
WORCESTER, Mass. – Going into last year’s playoffs, King Philip second baseman Ali Gill was hampered by injury. A nerve issue was causing her significant pain when she threw and arm weakness that diminished her power at the plate, which was a massive concern for a KP team reliant on her to add pop to the lineup.
This spring, her senior season, Gill was healthy throughout and the Colgate-commit delivered time and again for the top-seeded Warriors, including in Saturday’s 14-1 win over Somerset Berkley in the Div. 2 state title game at Worcester State’s Rockwood Field. She was 3-for-5 with nine total bases and four RBI in the final.
“Obviously, it’s been hard the past few years and this year I finally felt like myself again,” said Gill, who finished with 18 homers on the season. “I was happy to get out there and be able to play. Now, when I’m hitting, I feel so much stronger with my swing.”
With the game still scoreless in the third, junior Kelly Donahue and sophomore Annabelle Curran singled to bring Gill to the plate with no outs. The Warriors had missed opportunities with runners in scoring position in each of their first two at-bats and Gill, who doubled in the first, was looking to change that.
All it took was one swing of the bat to change the game. Gill turned on a pitch and lofted a ball high into the air in left field. It carried forever, landing well beyond the fence for a three-run homer that gave the Warriors (who allowed only one run in five playoff games) a crucial lead.
Fellow senior Lauren Griffin said of Gill’s homer “After everything she went through last season and before going to college––you never doubted that she was going to be successful. And big moments like this are what she’s here for.”
“And we feed off of her. Once she gets a hit, we all want to follow and get one and then we can string them together.”
It was a swing that Gill likely wouldn’t have been able to make last year and it kicked off a 13-batter, nine-run rally for the Warriors that effectively won the title. Gill added an RBI triple in her second at-bat of the inning.
“I just feel like I was going up there thinking, okay McCoy’s been pitching great, she’s let up no runs and now it’s time for me to have her back,” Gill said about her home run. Asked if she knew that it was gone when it left the bat, Gill replied, “That one I kind of did. Sometimes, I don’t know but that one I did.”
KP coach Kate Fallon added, “I called it. I’ve called a lot of her home runs this year and I kind of knew that she was going to send that one out.”
Senior pitcher McCoy Walsh, who plays with Gill on a travel team as well as for the Warriors said, “It’s awesome. Seeing what she did off the field before the season to prepare and seeing it finally being put into the game, it was just awesome. And that home run was awesome.”
When asked what Gill brings to the team, besides her obvious power at the plate, Fallon-Comeau said, “She’s the spark. She ignites the lineup. Once she does something, everyone thinks that they can do it.”
Gill knew that once KP had the lead that they would be able to put the game away. This is a team that lives off momentum and breaking the deadlock gave everyone confidence.
“I feel like once we get it going then the momentum turns our way,” she said. “Once we get some [runs] on the board, then we’ve got it now. It definitely let the girls be less stressed and just play the game.”
The Warriors knew that this was the final game for Fallon-Comeau, who announced to the team before the season that she would be retiring and, particularly for the seniors, it was a mission to send her out on top.
With two outs in the seventh, Somerset Berkley hit a grounder to the right side. Gill charged and made the flip to classmate Lauren Griffin for the final out. It felt fitting that it was the seniors that closed out the program’s first title in a decade.
“They’ve etched their names in KP history,” Fallon-Comeau said. “I just couldn’t be happier for them. They’ve put a lot into this program. To finish with them and win a state championship, you can’t ask for more than that.”
“It’s surreal,” Gill said. “It’s just amazing. I just feel so good that we worked so hard for this and we’re finally able to do it. If you want to win one year, then you want to win it your senior year and our coach’s last year.”
