Mustang Softball Earns Finals Bid With Victory Over New Bedford

On Tuesday the Norwood girls' softball team reached one of their season-long goals.

That goal was to earn a date with no. 1 ranked King Phillip, in the South Sectional Division 1 Finals, which will be held Friday night in Taunton.

The girl’s advanced to the finals with a 5-3 win over New Bedford, Tuesday afternoon, where Lauren Duggan and Ali Maloof combined to keep the Whalers offense at bay, and added some key offense in helping Norwood redeem themselves from last year’s early tournament exit.

“This is the first time Norwood has gone this far,” said Maloof. “It’s just wicked exciting. Coming into this we were thinking all about last year and what happened, just that we made it, it’s just unbelievable.”

Norwood got on the board first, after Maloof led off with a single. She stole second and scored on a Duggan single to the gap, for the early 1-0 Mustang lead.

In the second inning, it was the “young kids” as head coach Carol Savino calls them who led the Mustang rally. Sophomores Jess Gorman and Jill Sheppard led off and reached base with a walk and a single respectively, while junior Melissa Chisholm laid down a nice bunt that the Whalers defense could not handle.

With the bases loaded, another sophomore Kayla Garcynski worked a bases loaded walk to drive in the game’s second run. While Maloof walloped a key two-run opposite field single to left to score two more, for the 4-0 Mustang lead after two innings.

Maloof credited her teammates for their stellar play and even noted the energy coming from the bench as being instrumental in the Mustang win.

“The whole team put in the effort to win this game,” said Maloof. "Even the people on the bench cheering.”

In the circle, Duggan battled the heat and went to her rising fastball often to keep the (16-8) Whalers from continuing their offensive ways, following their large run outputs against both Walpole (19 runs) and Mansfield (9 runs).

“It was good to get back into it,” said Duggan who hadn’t started a game in almost a week. "The heat got to me in the end.”

Duggan went five innings giving up five hits while fanning four Whalers, before giving way to Maloof in the sixth.

The move by Savino to go with Maloof proved to be paramount, as Maloof squashed the Whalers hopes for any comeback when she struck out the side in the sixth as well as two of the four batters she faced in the seventh, for the save.

“Just Lauren and me together is just an awesome pair,” said Maloof. "We pick each other up.”

Both pitchers will have to bring their “A” game Friday night against the (22-0) King Phillip team featuring a pair of their own spectacular pitchers in Megan Rico and Meg Carnase. Both pitchers haven’t given up a run in the tournament, but Coach Savino knows her team has as good of a shot as any to pull the upset.

“They wanted KP,” said Savino referring to her team. "All we hear is Megan Rico, Megan Rico, Megan Rico. I say, Ali Maloof is as good as Rico, in my mind as coach. In the end it will be interesting whether who hits the ball better will win that game or who executes better.”