Needham Softball Falls Just Short Against Wellesley

The Needham Fastpitch U-14 Middle Essex league softball squad dropped a heartbreaking game to Wellesley's 14B with a 9-8 loss Monday night at Hunnewell Field.

Wellesley starting pitcher Olivia Hunter was untouchable early, recording 11 of her team's first 12 putouts via the strikeout with a blend of fastballs, curves, and a viscous changeup.

"She's got a lot of perseverance and she's been working at it hard, and it really shows," said Wellesley head coach Mike Demeo. "I think that's what really made the difference for Olivia tonight."

Wellesley small-ball offense scored the maximum six runs in the first inning thanks to perfectly placed bunts and an inexperienced Needham defense.

"They threw a lot of bunting at us," said Needham head coach Stacey Colarusso. "We had some inexperienced fielders  on the bunt tonight, but we made some adjustments and locked it up."

Needham pitcher Emily Rizzo also made some adjustments, settling down following the first inning to allow just one more run while fanning four over the next four innings.

The Needham lineup rallied behind Rizzo, scoring five runs in the next two innings to tie the game at seven but Wellesley answered in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run rally, capped by an Emily Dudek RBI double.

Hunter ended any thoughts of a Needham comeback, buckling down for another pair of strikeouts in the seventh to give her 17 in the game while preserving the Wellesley win.

"I didn't give up. I wanted to win really badly so I just threw strikes," said Hunter.

"For this team, this was the most exciting game all year," said Demeo. "It was a one-run game and neither team quit all the way down to the very last which made it most exciting."