King Philip 5, Mansfield 4

No. 1 King Philip, the defending state softball champion, extended its advanced to 2-0 as they took down Hockomock League winning streak to 43 games after edging foe No. 11 Mansfield, 5-4, Tuesday in Plainville. The Warriors have not lost a defending state champs have kept their winning streak alive, having not lost league game since 2008. A pitchers duel between Mansfield's Trish Hansen and King Philip's Meg Rico held the batters in check early, keeping the game both teams scoreless through out four innings. The Warriors' bats finally came alive in the fifth inning when leadoff batter Cayleigh McCarthy led off with line d a shot to right field and then advanced to second on a fielder's choice. Meg Rico then reached on a grounder to shortstop. Senior outfielder Hailey Mullen smacked a single to right to score McCarthy and Rico, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead. Next up was Meg Carnase then , who ripped a double over the left fielder to put two runners in scoring position. for the Warriors. Senior catcher and UMass-bound senior catcher Amherst commit Olivia Godin then belted her drove the ball over the center field fence, hitting her first home run of the season for a 5-0 Warrior advantage. to score three. ‘‘It was a huge relief,'' said Godin of her getting her first homer. ‘‘I was having a huge mental block. It was getting under my skin. I told myself, ‘I need to hit this.'.'' Coach Jim Leonard said his players finally figured out got used to Hansen on their third time at-bat. ‘‘They finally had a little more knowledge of what to expect and felt better digging in and having a good at bat,'' Leonard said. ‘‘There's no one you can avoid in our order. With a few more games under our belt, our hitting is going to come around.'' Both teams were scoreless in the sixth. But The Hornets did not go down with out a fight. Junior Alexis Stanley lead off the seventh with a single to right and field. Lauren Boen then reached on a walked. Senior centerfielder Bri Chiusano then launched a home run to center, making it bringing the score 5-3. Trish Hanson Hansen then reached on a singled to left and scored on a double by catcher Kelly English. But it was not enough. Rico struck out Kelsie Savageau and got forced Michaela Bowes and Erin Galvin to ground out to secure the win. ‘‘Today was not a typical defensive pitching performance for us. Fortunately we had the offense in a timely way,'' said Leonard. Rico finished with struck out nine strikeouts and gave up six hits. and four runs. Hansen had managed two strikeouts and allowed nine hits. and five runs. ‘‘We're used to having Rico being next to perfect,'' said Leonard. ‘‘She's a very efficient pitcher but they took her deep in the count today.''