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Health & Fitness

SUMMER AND TOURNAMENT SOFTBALL SMORGASBOARD FOR DGS 12U GIRLS!

SUMMER AND TOURNAMENT SOFTBALL SMORGASBOARD FOR DGS 12U GIRLS!

                Now that the Hockomock Summer League is running and there are tournaments seemingly anywhere someone who enjoys softball, it’s not “are the 12U’s playing today, but where are the 12u’s playing!” Because this great group of girls seems to eat, drink, and sleep softball the coaches know they will get the unbelievable effort and fun regardless of the outcome.

                The last week or so of 12U Softball started with a Hock game against fellow unbeaten Wrentham. A see-saw battle all night saw Dedham jump out to an early lead paced by the great pitching of Jess Andrews and Gianna Sciarappa. Offensively Molly Egan and Vanessa Tanetta paced the attack that put the girls seemingly in control late in the game, but Wrentham wasn’t undefeated for no reason, and they surged back to take a 10-9 lead going into the bottom of the 6th. Depressed, of course, discouraged, you bet….but game over?...No way!!....After Egan got on base and stole 2nd and 3rd the tying run was driven in with a 2 out base knock by Charlene Kelly and led to the dramatics of the 7th. Those dramatics were all thanks to Danielle McMurtry as she smoked a ball to center to get on base, and with 1 out proceeded to steal her way to third, where she used those “wheels” again to sneak in with a picture perfect slide and a 11-10 win to keep the girls unbeaten and in first place in Hock 12 East.

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                Thursday brought “tourney mindset” back in as Coach Melissa Wadman and her Field General Ralph Wadman would start to get the girls ready for the incredibly tough Dighton Eddie Silvia Tournament that took place this past weekend. Unfortunately the girls, already shorthanded due to injuries and bad luck, would have the hardest first 2 games as they were matched up against host power Dighton and regional power Rehoboth. Despite MVP performances from Emma Pelkey and Corinne Downey the girls found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard in both games. Knowing that it wasn’t lack of effort, the girls drew a friendlier matchup in the Plainville Pride in the last game of pool play. Having “shaken the sleep and lethargy” out from being in Dighton for almost 12 hours, the girls bats finally came alive and the Marauders played one of the better games of the day. If not for some odd bounces and tough calls, the girls would have gotten the W, but if nothing else learned they could play on the field with these teams. That lesson showed up in the elimination round as Fairhaven and Dedham squared off in what was clearly the most exciting game of the weekend. Offensively paced by Ava Bevilacqua and led on the mound by Sciarappa, the game also had some defense as highlighted by an ESPN Top 10 catch from Maeve Bolotte and 2 “runner-ups” from Charlene Kell.  The girls would exchange the lead 4 times and eventually experience extra innings for the first time. Once in extra innings, however, despite an amazing display of hustle from Downey and great play from “Slappy” Ashley Gilarde, the girls suffered a heartbreaking 8-7 loss that while dampened spirits led to two things….Most of the girls became “softball junkies” and cheered on the 10U CHAMPS the rest of their great day, and counted the hours and started getting ready for a return to Hock play against multiple time champ Franklin.

                At first the girls seemed as miserable as the rain and humidity as they fell behind 5-0 and 6-1, but with Julia Holton and Jillian Girard back and smoking the ball around the diamond, the girls would fight back to take the lead, a lead that looked even more secure after Kelly’s own “web gem” that had celebratory hop that rivaled Bolotte’s from the day before. Unfortunately Franklin showed Dedham that while near the top of the league standings is great, there is a reason they have won many Hock titles over the years as a great last inning rally resulted in a 13-11 loss that had the girls chewing nails as they couldn’t wait to get back on the field and back into first and show they learned something from the loss.

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                That wait wasn’t even 24 hours as a trip down to North Attleboro on Tuesday to face the undefeated Rockets was next up. Kayla Romig would show that experience is the best thing ever in softball as now that she was past her first game the defense and at bats we saw in the spring came back and helped paced the attack. The pitching attack was versatile and effective as Holton followed up Sciarappa’s perfect innings with a lengthy appearance where she battled a flexible strike zone and some hot bats. She joined Andrews’ early hot bat and glove and made sure to help her cause as well as she started a couple of double plays and drove in the insurance runs in the 12-9 win with a7th inning homer. Now back in first place the girls will have the long weekend off before they start their playoff push next Monday as they host Plainville at Sugrue. Check out all of the action and info on www.dedhamgs.com as well as follow us on Facebook!

               

               





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