Dedham 10U Girls Softball Tournament Team Rolls Over Competition in Dighton

The Dedham 10U Girls Softball tournament team continued their stellar play in this past weekend’s Dighton / Eddie Silvia Memorial Tournament in Dighton MA, winning the Championship and taking home the trophy.  The Dedham squad faced stiff competition all weekend long starting with three difficult games on Saturday.  After a long drive and an early start, Dedham faced Reboboth MA in morning mist.  After a slow start the Dedham bats came alive led by Julia Salemy, Sydney Salemy and Ally Flagg, with Flagg driving in 3 runs on the day.   On the mound Kassidy Hickey was on fire, allowing only 1 hit with 12 strikeouts.  In the end, Dedham was too much for Reboboth and Dedham prevailed 4-0.  After a brief rest next up was Dartmouth MA.  The rest must have helped because Dedham jumped out to a 10-0 lead after 2 innings.  The offensive onslaught was up and down the order with great at-bats and runs scored by Caroline Coyle, Ciara Bolotte, Hickey, the Salemys, and Flagg with a huge RBI by Florio.  Hickey was again strong in her starting role with a strong defense behind her led by Alyssa Eliot, Maggie Delaney, Colleen Corsi and Brooke McMurtry.  With the lead secured Hickey was given a rest and Caroline Coyle entered in relief and delivered the save.  The late afternoon game placed Dedham against Tiverton RI.  A stiff Tiverton defense held Dedham scoreless for 2 innings.  But Hickeys pitching was too much for them as she sat down the first 6 batters.  In the third Dedham came alive and scored 5 runs.  The rally was started with a nice bunt by McMurtry and followed by hits by Coyle, Hickey, Julia Salemy and a walk by Sydney.  That led the way for a base clearing hit by Flagg.  In the fourth a leadoff hit by Corsi was followed by an RBI by Delaney. Another run in the fifth combined with 13 strikeouts on the day by Hickey ensured the 7-1 win.  The 3-0 Saturday meant a 2 seed for Sundays play.  The first game Sunday was a rematch against 5 seed Tiverton.  Another day, but the same result as Dedham posted a 3-0 shutout.   Hickey was again unhittable posting 17 strikeouts and no hits, with great plays in the field by Eliot and Florio.  The Dedham runs were scored off hits by Coyle, Hickey, the Salemys, Flagg and Delaney.   The noontime semi-final showdown paired Dedham and the Taunton Tornadoes.  Dedham jumped on top 2-0 after the first on runs by Hickey and Julia Salemy with an RBI by Flagg.  Hickey was again excellent on the mound holding Taunton scoreless through 5 with key plays made by Sydney Salemy and Coyle.  This one looked to be coming down to the wire.  But in the fifth the Dedham bats could not be held back and the flood gates opened.    Once again led off by a McMurtry walk, hits by Coyle and Bolotte were followed by RBI hits by Julia Salemy, and Flagg.  As Sydney Salemy crossed the plate the Mercy rule was in effect and Dedham posted the 8-0 win and a trip to the finals.  After losing in the Abington finals two weeks prior, the Dedham squad was focused on bringing home the win.  However standing in their way was the 1 seed Bay State Blitz from new Bedford, a perennial champ in Dighton.   With the Bay State ace on the mound and Hickey rested, this was lining up to be a pitcher’s dual.  That was the case through 4 innings as Dedham batters were denied by the strong Bay State defense.   Hickey started where she left off and only allowed 2 runners through 4.  One of those runners only lasted one pitch as Bolotte picked her off in a steal attempt with a nice tag by Delaney.  Bolotte was a rock behind the plate all weekend and was not about to let a runner into scoring position.  In the fifth Julia Salemy got on with a single and after 2 steals was sitting at third with Flagg at the plate.  Flagg roped a double to center and Dedham took the 1-0 lead.  In the sixth, with 2 outs, it looked like it would be up to the defense to hold in the bottom half of the inning.  But Coyle started a rally with a single, followed by hits from Bolotte, Hickey and Julia Salemy.  Coyle and Bolotte crossed the plate and Dedham entered the last half of the sixth with a 3-0 lead.  With Dedham fans on their feet with fingers crossed, players cheering their loudest, and Bay State planning a rally Dedham was still three outs away from victory.  The tension was short lived as Hickey and her defense put them down 1-2-3 and the victory was secured.  All that was left were the handshakes and trophy presentation.  Dedham finished the weekend outscoring their opponents 36-5 and only trailed for 1 inning.  Offensive contributions were made up and down the lineup and the defense played well all weekend in support of Hickeys stellar pitching.  The tournament squad rejoins their Hockomock League teammates for league games this week and hopefully can keep rolling.