Meghan Rich Starts Off The Season Right

Junior Megan Rich, a standout pitcher on the softball team, has gotten off to a great start this season. Currently, the team is undefeated, and no one on an opposing team has managed to get on base when hitting against her.  A versatile player, Rich has proven herself invaluable to the success of the Lions this year, after just two games.

In the Lions season opener against last week, Meghan threw a no hitter. Last Friday, Rich effectively played first base, as the Lions improved their record to 2-0.

“I’m not a fast pitcher, I throw a lot of junk pitching, and I’ve been working at it really hard for a long time,” said Meghan Rich.

“She’s a junk pitcher, meaning she can throw the ball in any direction,” said Bruce Rich, Meghan’s father and coach. “She can throw drop, rise, a speed ball, curve ball, and knuckle ball along with the changeups. She’s not overpowering, but she’s very accurate.”

Bruce and Meghan Rich both maintain that the no hitter thrown by Meghan was in part a team effort, and the first two games give them confidence that the team will have a successful season.

“It was good because I had the whole team behind me; It was kind of a team effort,” said Meghan Rich.

“A big part of throwing a no hitter is that she has some great teammates. There were a couple of plays defensively that saved the no hitter,” said Coach Rich.

Meghan Rich started her softball career early on. She said she’s been playing as long as she can remember.

“She started pitching seriously when she was nine or ten years old. We had her out in the yard throwing to her older brothers,” said Coach Rich.

Now, at 16, Meghan Rich has developed into a star player. In the past three years, Rich has been able to key in on her game, and get to the next level of competition.

“My accuracy has gotten a lot better, I’ve been hitting better a lot lately, and overall I’ve improved,” said Rich.

“From freshman year to now, she is probably seven or eight miles an hour faster, and that’s quite a big difference,” said Coach Rich. “If she masters her pitches, she should be able to play some college softball.”

In addition to playing on the high school team, Rich competitively plays on a club team, the Bay State Bandits  along with many of her teammates from Chelmsford.

Meghan Rich said that playing on the Bandits has helped her improve on her game, and brought the team closer together.

“Basically my whole softball team is on the Bandits, we play all year long, and we’ve all grown up together,” she said.

This season, most of the girls are returning veterans, and Rich believes that the team has a shot for a successful post season, as they made it to the second round last year.

“Our chemistry is a lot better this year,” said Meghan Rich. "We're going to take it game by game, and try to win every one."