Sports
Comeback Kids Win Again on the Softball Diamond
Tewksbury High softball team overcomes early deficit and tops Triton, 6-3.
They may not start out playing pretty, but they sure do finish well.
The once again spotted an opponent an early lead, and once again came from behind in the late innings, this time taking a 6-3 decision over non-league foe Triton Regional Monday afternoon at Memorial Field.
It was the team's second straight come-from-behind victory, and the win improves Tewksbury's record to 3-1 overall, 2-1 in the Merrimack Valley Conference.
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"You can't spot a team seven outs in the first inning and expect to win the game," said . "But somehow we did, and somehow we got away with it."
The Redmen got away with it for two reasons. One was foot speed and the other was pitching.
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The foot speed came from several sources, notably senior left field Ally Greene, who reached base four consecutive times without hitting the ball out of the infield. Greene stole three bases, scored two runs and generally antagonized the Triton defense whenever she could.
Freshman second baseman Brooke Hardy did likewise, reaching base twice, scoring once, stealing a base and knocking in a run. Senior pitcher Kayla Benvenuto helped her own cause with two hits and a run scored, and junior shortstop Tiffany Marsh delivered the game's biggest blow, knocking in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the fifth.
"We went to the short game in the fourth inning and tried to make some things happen on the bases, just like we did up in Lowell (last Friday)," DiRocco said. "Once a couple kids get on the rest of them get the idea that "you know, maybe I can hit, too.'"
The pitching came from Benvenuto, the senior righthander who was once again masterful in the latter stages of the game. After allowing three runs on three hits while walking three batters in the first three innings, Benvenuto found her groove and retired 14 out of the final 15 batters she faced.
Benvenuto struck out nine Triton batters in recording her third win against one loss. Only one of the three Triton runs was earned.
"In the beginning it was a little shaky but we had each other's backs," said Tewksbury junior catcher Lauren Texeira. "Kayla's a great pitcher. She knows how to throw and she knows where to throw it. She knew what she had to do and she got it done."
"I think she was a little frustrated with all the mental errors we made in the first couple innings," DiRocco said of Benvenuto. "But she didn't get rattled, which was good. She's like a rookie out there too. She played (junior varsity) ball the last three years."
Benvenuto was also the beneficiary of some strong defensive plays, as junior third baseman Katie Doherty had another outstanding game, while junior center fielder Sherri Liggiero played well defensively, too.
Two Tewksbury errors led to two unearned Triton runs in the top of the first inning, but Greene got one back for the home team in the bottom of the first when she parlayed an error, a stolen base and an infield out into a trip around the bases.
Triton went up 3-1 in the third after Brooke Jamison tripled and came home on a walk. But Benvenuto knuckled down after that, striking out the final two Vikings in that inning to leave the bases loaded.
Tewksbury's offense woke up in the fifth when freshman DH Chelsee Porcaro singled, Greene walked and Hardy singled to load the bases. Marsh then singled in two runs to tie the score at 3-3, and Texeira produced the game winner by driving home Hardy with a sharp infield grounder.
Freshman first baseman Shannon McLaughlin started a sixth inning rally that produced two insurance runs. McLaughlin doubled down the left field line, and Benvenuto bunted her way on, moving McLaughlin to third. Porcaro drove in McLaughlin with a ground ball, and two batters later Hardy got the final RBI, driving in pinch runner Missy Cordwell with an infield out.
"I'm thrilled with the way we're playing," DiRocco said. "We made a couple of mental errors early, but you have to expect that out of a young team. We're 3-1 with eight rookies or something like that on our team. I'm elated."
Tewksbury hosts Billerica Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
