Warrior softball tallies 46 runs in four-game winning streak

ALLIDA KELLIHER tallied 6 hits, 5 RBI, 3 runs scored and a homer in wins over Wilmington, Melrose and Somerville last week. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High softball team likes to score runs.

That much was made plenty clear to Warrior fans during the team’s four-game winning streak last week from Monday to Friday when Wakefield scored a total of 46 runs.

Due to some early season rainouts, it was certainly a busy week with four games in five days, a trend that will likely continue soon with the postponement of Wakefield’s road game against Stoneham scheduled for today.

The Warriors (4-2) picked up their first win,14-7, over Saugus on April 11.

That set up their first Middlesex League Freedom Division matchup of the season, games that mean a lot to a team who wants to win the division this year.

Wakefield took a great first step towards that goal with a 12-0 rout over Wilmington at Blatz Park, Meghan Burnett Field.

“It’s always good to come out and beat a division team,” said head coach Chris Tolios. “They’ve gotten the best of us each year for as long as I’ve been here, so this was a good win for our program as a whole. They are very well-coached so beating that team doesn’t come easy.”

Senior captain Allida Kelliher (2-for-3, HR) led the way wth two hits including her first home run of the season, a solo shot.

Senior captain Nora Leach had the shutout on the mound.

Sara Nemec (3-for-3, 1RBI, 3R) and Emma Kane (3-for-3, 3RBI) also stood out with three-hit games.

Senior captain Claire Donahue (2-for-3, 2R) had a solid all-around game at the dish and defensively at third base where according to Tolios she has been “beyond exceptional so far.”

Wakefield was able to get out of a first inning jam without allowing any runs after Wilmington had the bases loaded.

“I think we woke up a little bit after that and settled in,” said Tolios. “The bats started going and we were able to get the job done.”

Altogether the Warriors tallied 13 hits and 10 runs batted in.

Paige Butland and Kathleen Gmelch each had 2-RBI hits.

Wakefield moved to 3-1 and 2-0 in the Freedom Division with a hard-earned 7-5 road win over rival Melrose on Thursday.

“This was the most interesting game of the week but par for the course because we always have some good ones with Melrose,” said Tolios.

The Warriors went up big early, behind 15 total hits in the game. They led 7-0 with Leach keeping the Red Raiders off the board through a few innings.

Melrose would battle back on their home field, putting up five runs to make it 7-5.

“Credit to them, they competed really hard and overall, I thought harder than we did,” said Tolios.

That forced Leach and the defense to come up with some clutch outs late in the game.

No out was more key than what Tolios called the play of the game with the Warriors up two and Melrose threatening with two runners on.

A shot was sent out to Kathleen Gmelch in left field, but the freshman – a recently converted outfielder – was ready for it, making a play on the run to preserve the lead.

“She ran back and somehow pulled it down,” said Tolios. “Off the bat, I was sure we just went down 8-7, but teams get bailed out by good athletes and luckily that was the case for us.”

In addition to her strong game in the circle, Leach also went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Butland (2-for-4, 2R) and Jade Waterhouse (3-for-4, 2R, 2RBI) set the tone at the top of the order with a combined five hits.

Kelliher (1-for-5, 2RBI), Kane (1-for-2, 1RBI) and Charlotte Rossicone (1-for-5, 1RBI) all added RBI hits.

Wakefield kept it going the very next day when they returned home to host Somerville. The Warrior bats put an exclamation point on their high-powered week with an 11-run win by a score of 13-2.

“This was a nice win for us to cap off the week at 4-0,” said Tolios. “We came out swinging and it became contagious.”

Butland was the star of the show, going 3-for-3 with 5 RBI and two homers including a grand slam to center field.

“Paige led the way but really everyone got involved,” said Tolios. “(Somerville) had a solid pitcher on the mound but we jumped on her early and just kept it going. It was a fun game to watch and I think you could see it gave the girls some confidence as a team.”

Leach pitched her fourth great outing of the week.

Kelliher went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI’s. Nemec had a 2-RBI hit while Leach and Donahue both added RBI knocks.

Wakefield’s winning streak finally came to an end against an always powerful Woburn team by a score of 9-3 on Monday.

The Warriors will next host an undefeated (5-0) Burlington team on Friday at 10 a.m.