Warriors storm 15 runs across in rout
ALEXIS TRUESDALE pitched six innings and earned the victory for the Warrior softball team. Wakefield blasted Somerville by a 15-1 score yesterday afternoon in the season finale at Vets’ Field to finish the regular season at 14-6. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Memorial High School varsity softball team played its second game in as many days on Thursday as the Warriors hosted Somerville in a non-league game that concluded their regular season schedule.
The Warriors got back to their winning ways Thursday at Vets’ Field, beating Somerville 15-1 in six innings as the visitors failed to record an out in the final inning before the game was halted due to the mercy rule.
With the win Coach Rick Quattrocchi’s team finished the regular season at 14-6.
“Seems like the last five years we’ve been 14 and 6 all the time so I guess we’re consistent,” laughed Quattrocchi after the game.
Wakefield’s Coach “Q” was pleased with the result after a run of tough opponents saw the Warriors lose some close games.
“We had to get our mojo back,” said the coach. “I’m proud of them. I thought they really played well. We haven’t been playing well the last couple of games. We faced real tough pitching the last three or four games, girls who could really throw the ball.
Wakefield started out a little rocky, falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Warrior starter Alexis Truesdale was phenomenal after the first four batters.
After allowing one run after one out in the first, Truesdale shut Somerville down and didn’t even allow a runner to reach base the remainder of the game.
On the offensive side, the Warriors failed to score in the first and after one and half innings they trailed 1-0.
In the second, Wakefield got its bats heated up for five runs on three hits. The Warriors were slugging and chugging as they put pressure on the defense resulting in three errors. When they were on they were stealing with six stolen bases in the second inning.
After Truesdale got the side in order in the third, Wakefield went to work once again scoring four runs. Freshman Hannah Dziadyk got things going with a leadoff triple and scored on an error by the pitcher allowing Nicole Catino to reach. Following the error Meghan Burnett singled, Amanda Boulter reached on an error by the shortstop and Emma Kraus walked. Truesdale was hit by a pitch before Nicole Gasdia’s two-run single. The inning ended with a fielder’s choice and a strikeout but the damage was done with the big blow coming from Gasdia.
Both teams failed to score in the fourth inning and Truesdale got Somerville in order in the fifth.
Meagan Gibbons led off the Warriors’ half of the fifth with a single and scored on a one-out Julia Purcell RBI double to make the score 10-1.
After Somerville failed to score again in their half of the sixth, the Warriors came to bat with a nine run lead. The rally started with a leadoff walk and a Jessie Dubuque single followed by a pair of walks to load the bases and walk in a run.
With nobody out and the bases loaded, Gibbons came to bat once again. After a lengthy at bat featuring several foul tips with the count full, Gibbons struck a line drive down the left field line by the left fielder rolling toward the fence. Swiftly the runners scored and Gibbons rounded the bases. A strong relay throw from the shortstop nearly got Gibbons at the plate, but she made it around safely for the grand-slam.
At that point, the umpire called the game due to the mercy rule, ending the game in walk-off fashion.
Heading into the tournament, the Warriors must wait patiently for the June 1 tournament seeding to see where they’ll play and who they’ll face.
“We just have to get back to the fundamentals and we’ll get our mojo back,” Quattrocchi said as he looked toward the postseason. “There are a lot of teams in the league that wish they were 14-6 that didn’t make the tournament, so I’ll take it. I just told them, home or away I don’t care, we’re in it and that is all that counts.”
When asked if he felt this year’s group was well equipped to make a deep run in the tournament the coach said earnestly, “If they get back to playing the way they were playing the first half of the year, this team can be really dangerous.”
