First Inning Run Sinks Dedham Softball in MIAA Playoffs

The 2011 season came to a close for the softball team Friday afternoon as they dropped a heart-breaking 1-0 game to Fairhaven High School in the second round of the MIAA South Division 2 playoffs.

Junior pitcher Brooke Sheehan walked Kayli Moniz, the first batter of the game, and she eventually came around to score. That would be the only offense either team would put across home plate.

"Brooke pitched really well for us," Dedham coach Erika Eisenhut said. "Early on maybe a little bit of nerves getting worked out there, but then once they were, she pulled through when we needed big outs." 

Sheehan settled down quite well after the first as she finished the game with six strikeouts and allowed eight hits. The sixth-seeded Blue Devils left nine runners on base - and Dedham fielders nabbed two runners at the plate. 

Freshman Colleen Downing threw a rocket from right field to home plate - over calls from Eisenhut to throw to first base - for a run-saving out in the bottom of the sixth.

"She's goes for that girl," Eisenhut said. "We always work on getting the force out at one just to get an out, but that was awesome. Great instincts."

As tight - and as clutch - as the Dedham defense played for a large majority of the game, the offense couldn't solve Blue Devils freshman Courtney Girouard. Dedham mustered four hits and had just one runner reach third base against Girouard, who featured plenty of off-speed pitches.

"We got our bats on the ball, but we just couldn't find a hole," Eisenhut said. "We don't adjust as well as we should to the slower, off-speed stuff.

"They weren't going to make an error, so we needed to find a gap, and we didn't," she said.

Girouard pitched without nerves in her playoff debut, Fairhaven coach Cathy Silva said after the game.

"She's been playing with such poise and confidence out there, and she sets the stage for us," Silva said.

Dedham will return everyone except senior catcher Nicole Perosino next season - something Eisenhut said would take about a week for her to start thinking about.

"That part is looking up, but it's too early. I'm still going to process this one for a week or so," Eisenhut said.