Bellingham 2, Holliston 1: Panther Softball Bounced From Tourney

BELLINGHAM - Molly Blake pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to keep the visiting Holliston softball team in contention, but Nicole Reed's walk-off sacrifice fly to deep left field gave No. 7 Bellingham a 2-1  victory over the 10th-seeded Panthers in a Division 2 South first round on Saturday.

It's the second straight year the Blackhawks have knocked Holliston out of the postseason. Last season, Bellingham beat Holliston 6-0 in the Div. 2 semifinals en route to a sectional title.

“It was a great game,” said Holliston coach Melissa Dlugolecki. “It was two competitive, talented squads. I have a lot of respect for their coach and their group of girls. It’s a great program, and we knew it was going to be a battle. It could have gone either way.”

Bellingham advances to the Division 2 South quarterfinal round, where it will face host and No. 2 seed Hopkinton on Monday at 4 p.m.

“This was the best game we’ve played all year,” said Blake. “We came out, we came together as a family and we did our thing. It just didn’t turn out in our favor, but I am proud of every single girl on my team.”

Blake, who allowed nine hits, two walks and struck out four, surrendered a leadoff single to Cassandra Wante in the bottom of the seventh. Then, Blake walked Mikayla Korona, putting runners on first and second.

Anna Duncan then laid down a sacrifice bunt towards the third base side, allowing Wante to move to third and Korona to advance to second, setting up Reed’s sac fly to left field.

“A lot of pressure,” Blake said of the seventh inning. “All I was doing was trying to throw them off balance. (Reed’s) a great hitter. I threw her a curve, and she got a hold of it.”

 “(Reed) hit it deep enough that we couldn’t (make a play),” said Dlugolecki. “Our outfielders have great arms. Our left fielder made a great catch. I knew if it was anything in front of them they’d be able to make the catch and hold the runner. She got a hold of it, and she earned that win.”

Bellingham (17-4) scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first. Korona bunted and reached first safely to lead off the inning, and Duncan placed another bunt down, advancing Korona to second.

However, Koronoa got greedy on the play and tried to take third, but was thrown out. Duncan advanced to second on the play at third. Reed then laced a ground-rule double to deep left, putting her Blackhawks on top 1-0.

Holliston (14-7) was held scoreless 3 2/3 innings before Blake hit a pop fly to shallow right. Bellingham's right fielder couldn’t make the catch, allowing Ashley Higgins to score from third to tie the game at 1-1.

“Our team – we say that we’ve transformed from individuals to a family this season,” Dlugolecki said. “I think that kind of did that out on the field today. They didn’t get down. They believed.

“They knew that they had the ability to bounce back and put some runs on the board, and they did their job.”

The Blackhawks had a chance to take the lead back in the bottom of the fourth after Rachel Kuhlman’s leadoff double to right. Brandi Felzmann then singled to center, advancing Kuhlman to third.

But with one out and runners on first and third, Blake pitched her way out of the jam, striking out Megan Cook and forcing Chelsea Weir to pop out to second, ending the inning.

“She did great,” Dlugolecki said of Blake. “Any hits they got, they earned. They had to work for them. No gifts were given out there. Bellingham hits the ball well, they executed.”

Cook was dominant on the mound for Bellingham, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out seven in the complete game victory.

“We played hard – they played together, they played with passion,” said Dlugolecki. “I’m really proud of them.”

The Panthers will lose two seniors to graduation, allowing them to return with a group just as good as this year’s.

“If not, better,” added Blake. “I know I will work even harder next year to come back for my team. This is just like the beginning, we’re just building up.”

Gethin Coolbaugh is a Sports Reporter for Holliston Patch. He can be reached at 774-279-1994 or at gethin.coolbaugh@yahoo.com. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on Twitter.