The l varsity girls softball team is heading to the Central Massachusetts Division II Finals after defeating last year's state champions, Hudson High School, 4-3, Tuesday, June 7 at New Balance Field in Worcester.
The second-seeded Indians (18-3) will take on Leicester High School in the finals on Saturday, June 11, at New Balance Field located on Stafford Street. The time of the game is yet to be determined.
"It feels great'' to beat Hudson, said Grafton head coach John Gemme. “They’re the defending State Champs and they always expect to win, and they should, they're a good team. It’s just always quite an accomplishment to beat a good team like that.”
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Grafton scored four runs in the second inning off Hudson sophomore starter Jurnee Ware and Indians’ freshman workhorse Kendal Roy, combined with some great effort from her defense, helped send the Hawks home from the playoffs earlier than expected.
“It feels awesome,” said senior third baseman Emily Felbaum. “This [win] gives us a lot of confidence; I knew we could do it. I think Hudson wasn’t expecting us to pull through and I’m really happy we did.”
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With Grafton up 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Roy mowed down the first two hitters before running into catcher Allie Carver. A non-called strike on a 0-2 pitch gave Carver another chance and she took advantage of it, sending Roy’s pitch off Felbaum’s glove at third for a single.
Junior first baseman Marie Hydro stepped in next and lined a single to right field. A bobble by the rightfielder allowed courtesy runner (for Carver) Chelsey Scovil to head to third. With runners on the corners and two outs, junior Christy Mcgraw grounded to Felbaum who threw across the diamond to get her for the final out on a bang-bang play at the bag.
Hudson had plenty of opportunities throughout the game to put some runs on the board, but it was the Indians’ defense that helped keep the chance of going to the Finals intact all game long.
“Boy, we held on by the skin of our teeth,” said Gemme. “There were two outs in the last inning and I’m thinking this looks good but then uh oh…but I give the girls credit, they made the big plays when they needed to; they earned it.”
Felbaum, who will play softball at Boston University next season, got the scoring started for the Indians back in the second with a lead-off single (advanced to second on bobble) off Ware. “She’s
an excellent pitcher and I was watching what she did with the first three batters and I knew she was [throwing] all outside and then the first pitch she threw me I just went with it,” said Felbaum, one of Grafton’s captains.
Senior Andrea Vulter followed with a single, knocking in Felbaum for the early 1-0 lead. Vulter then stole second and would be knocked in by Roy, who singled to center and took second on the throw to the plate; the Indians were up 2-0.
Sophomore first baseman Tess Fitzmaurice continued the inning with a walk and junior centerfielder Nikki Murphy did her part by dropping down a sacrifice bunt to move Leah Berthiaume — courtesy runner for Roy — to third and Fitzmaurice to second.
Leadoff hitter Tara Faford then hit a fly ball to right field, which looked like it would be the final out of the inning, but Hudson junior Kayla Mason was unable to track the ball in the tough sunlight and the ball dropped in safely. Berthiaume and Fitzmaurice scored on the error giving Grafton a commanding 4-0 lead.
Hudson struck back in the bottom half of the inning, grabbing three runs on six hits before Roy finally got second baseman Kara Knights to fly out to center with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Hudson looked as if they’d strike again in the fifth, but Roy got some help from her defense as Murphy made a great sliding catch going to her knees with the bases loaded to end the inning.
“They [Hudson] were hitting the ball, but the defense behind me was definitely doing their job,” said Roy. “We weren’t letting a lot of balls drop or having errors, so that was helpful.”
“I’d expect us to make those'' catches, said Roy when asked about Murphy’s grab. “We’re a good defensive team and we definitely play strong when we need to.”
Roy played strong the entire game, going the distance on just 88 pitches while allowing three runs and striking out one.
“She’s pitched every inning of every game for us. She’s been a workhorse out there and you know in the second inning it looked like they were getting to her, getting the bat on the ball pretty good and then she stepped it up a little bit,” said Gemme.
“She kept hitting the inside part of the plate pretty well, picked up the speed, started moving it [the ball] a little bit and it worked out.”
Though the Indians would like to savor this victory, their attention will have to turn to fifth-seeded Leicester — a team that Grafton defeated 5-0 just over a month ago — as their journey to be champions continues.
Despite the Wolverines’ 15-5 record, Grafton doesn’t seem to be worried, as Felbaum assures the team will be champs come Saturday. “Now that we got past Hudson, I’m confident that we’re going to go all the way. I’m confident.”