Dedham Softball Bounces Back, Defeats Wellesley

Even the most experienced softball teams often have trouble recovering from a big loss. But to a young team, a huge loss can be especially devastating and difficult to come back from.

So after losing to Walpole 13-3 on Tuesday to drop to 7-5 on the season, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Marauders were still a little shell-shocked when they welcomed Wellesley to for a game under the lights Wednesday night.

Junior pitcher Brooke Sheehan wouldn’t let that happen, though. Sheehan went the distance, giving up just three hits while striking out 13, and the Marauders beat the Raiders 4-1.

“Brooke came out and pitched very, very well for us tonight, so we’re very proud of her,” fourth-year coach Erika Eisenhut said. “She's improving as the season goes along, so that’s great for us.”

Things didn’t look like they’d go that well early on. Sheehan walked Wellesley’s Michelle Silver following a lengthy at bat to lead off the game. Silver then stole second. After KJ Sanger struck out, Silver would move up and come around to score when sophomore Ellie DeCaprio grounded out. Sisters Kate and Anne Stewart then followed with back-to-back singles, but Sheehan got out of the inning when she punched out Erin Mathews looking.

Dedham did their damage in the second. Left fielder Katie Nosky walked to lead off the inning, then was knocked in when catcher Nicole Perosino hit a rocket to left field for a triple.

After third baseman Laura Tavalone popped out to the short stop, second baseman Kelly Quinn hit a slapper to Wellesley third baseman Nicole Yee, who threw to home to get Perosino. The speedy Quinn then stole second before shortstop Emily Mosca scored her on a double. First baseman Paige Keefe then walked. Mosca and Keefe then each advanced on a passed ball, and Mosca scored on a wild pitch, which put Keefe on third. Meaghan Paton then hit a knubber in front of the plate, which went for an infield single and scored Keefe to make it 4-1.

From there it was the Brooke Sheehan show. With a three-run cushion after two innings, the Raiders never had a runner get past first base again.

“I think it’s better to get ahead early because you can get more comfortable,” Sheehan said. “It was a good game. I’m happy.”

Added Eisenhut, “The girls played well defensively, so when the ball did get put into play we fielded it cleanly. We had some good coverage at third and some good outfield plays as well.”

The Marauders improved their record to 8-5. They’ll finally get a little rest Thursday after playing four straight days due to make-ups from rain-outs, and while they Eisenhut believes it was a good win, she still feels there’s room for improvement.

“I wish we could’ve put together some more back-to-back hits,” the coach said. “I had a feeling we were going to come out and crush the ball today and we’re still working on that.”

Of Note: Catcher Nicole Perosino, the lone senior captain on the team, will be headed to Becker College in the fall, where she will study nursing and play softball. Becker plays in the Division 3 New England College Conference.