Portsmouth High Loses to East Greenwich 4-0 In Softball Championship

PROVIDENCE — lost to East Greenwich 4-0 in the softball championship held Tuesday evening at Rhode Island College.

Junior Mollie Anderson threw a no-hitter to lead East Greenwich to its first Division II softball championship in its program’s history.

As Anderson walked off the field after celebrating in the circle with her teammates, she began to pack up her stuff and was approached by a teammate who asked her if she knew she had just thrown a no-hitter. She had no idea.

“I didn’t actually realize it,” said Anderson, “I knew I could play my game. I could throw what pitches I needed to throw and my team would back me up on all the plays.”

“We didn’t expect anything. We knew we’d have to work and we stuck together and pushed through as a team.”

"Together" was the buzzword for the Avengers this year, who finished the season tied for the best record at 14-2. They screamed “Together!” before the game and in between every inning. They played together, too.

The Avengers had no errors. They played small ball, using bunts and steals to advance runners, and each starter contributed with a hit, an RBI or a run.

Portsmouth, who finished the season 11-5, faced a tough road to the championship.

The Patriots were trounced 10-0 by Middletown in the second round of the playoffs and had to pull themselves back up to beat division contenders Prout and redeem themselves against Middletown to get to the championship game through the losers’ bracket.

“I’m really proud of the way the girls performed,” said Tom Galib, Portsmouth’s head coach. “They played hard all season and made it to the championship game.

“We didn’t get any hits. They pitched a really great game. You have to give them credit. It was a good win.”

The Avengers got their first run in the bottom of the first inning when Alex Place reached on a single in the leadoff position, stole second and took third on a sacrifice bunt. She then scored on a Jackie Defusco grounder to short with one out left.

The Avengers would add two more runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Danielle Webber drove in Rachel Gammons on an RBI single to center and then Webber scored when the Portsmouth third baseman, Eileen Eads, threw the ball over first baseman Grace Banks’ head, to make it 3-0.

The Avengers scored their final run on an RBI single by Karen Lockhart in the bottom of the fifth. She drove in Lauren Duvall who had reached on an error, stole second and then took third on another error by the Patriots.

The Patriots had four errors in the game.

Anderson struck out six in the no-hitter. She maintained a perfect game through four innings, before walking Amy Hamilton in the top of fifth.

“There are no words to describe Mollie’s performance this year,” said Avengers’ coach Robert Petrucci. “She has been an unbelievable addition to our team.”

Last year, Anderson ran track. She said she was happy she made the switch to softball this year. 

Petrucci credited the Avengers’ defense, particularly the outfield, and the teams tenacity as key factors in the win.

“That’s East Greenwich softball this year—speed, defense and good pitching, capitalizing when we can. Our goal was to get up early if we could and we did that in the first inning,” explained Petrucci.

One run was all it took as the right arm of Anderson took over from there. With a steely look on her face and a sweeping circular pitching motion, she hurled her team to a state championship.

“That was our goal to get here and win,” said Anderson, smiling after the game. “It shows how hard we’ve worked together as a team. We stayed together that entire game.”