Anderson’s No-Hitter Gives EG First State Softball Title

Anderson’s No-Hitter Gives EG First State Title
By: Ted Cullinane

For the first time in the program’s history, the EGHS girls fastpitch softball team can now call themselves “state champions” after defeating Portsmouth 4-0 in Tuesday’s Division 2 final.

Coach Rob Petrucci said that the story to his team’s success this spring was “speed, defense, and good pitching.”

East Greenwich showed their speed in the first inning after Alex Place singled, stole second, advanced to third, then eventually scored on a Jackie DeFusco groundout to give EG an early 1-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, pinch runner Rachel Gammons scored on Danielle Webber’s single to center field. The Portsmouth centerfielder briefly misplayed the ball allowing Gammons to use her speed to score and thus increased the Avengers’ lead to 2-0.

East Greenwich continued to capitalize on Portsmouth’s errors in the same inning after Keri Pallister hit home Webber on another Portsmouth error to give EG a 3 run lead.

Three EG runs through 4 innings was more than enough cushion for Mollie Anderson who struck out a total of 6 in the game, continuing a winning record through the season.

“There are no words to describe Mollie Anderson’s performance this year,” said an ecstatic Coach Petrucci.

Anderson, who did not realize she threw a no hitter until one of her coaches told her at the end of the game, praised her team’s defensive performance behind her. “It shows how hard we work together as a team. I can always count on them to back me up.”

Despite Portsmouth’s four errors in the game, East Greenwich was able to put pressure on Portsmouth’s defense throughout the game, due in large part to East Greenwich’s speed and timely hitting.

In the fifth inning, EG added their final run after Lauren Duvall scored on Karen Lockhart’s 2-out RBI single which gave EG the lead of 4-0.

“They wanted this,” Petrucci said about his team, “they worked so hard. I love each and every one of them.”