West Bridgewater can't complete job
WORCESTER - As the Division 3 softball state final continued into extra innings, Turners Falls pitcher Danielle Sullivan urged her teammates to swing the bat.
"Just hit the ball," she told them before their turn at the plate. "They were a little riled up. They were just thinking way too much," she said.
Sometimes, it's best to follow your own advice.
Sullivan smashed a game-deciding double in the top of the 10th to score Kim Arsenault and then shut down West Bridgewater in the bottom of the inning to secure a 2-1 victory and the state championship.
Sullivan went the distance, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out nine.
The Indians (22-2) jumped on Wildcats starter Alyssa Williams for an early run in the first. Cleanup hitter Kayla Breor muscled a triple that nearly cleared the right-field fence, knocking in Sullivan with the game's first run.
West Bridgewater (21-4) tied it in the third when Alyssa Gray smacked a triple and Katelyn Taylor got her in with a bloop single.
Williams, meanwhile, settled down, retiring 18 straight batters from the second to the eighth inning.
"She pitched her heart out," co-coach Richard Zanca said. "She gave us everything we wanted."
In the meantime, West Bridgewater's bats kept working. In the sixth, Taylor led off with a single. Meg Dow sacrificed her to second, but on Danielle Correia's subsequent grounder, the Indians threw to third for the tag on Taylor.
The Wildcats also threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out. But Williams struck out and Adria Kotsiopolous grounded to second to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 10th, the Wildcats mounted a final offensive. Taylor reached on a leadoff walk and moved to third after a Dow sacrifice and a stolen base. Sullivan got Correia on a grounder and Tayla Miller on a routine fly to center to close out the game.
In the end, West Bridgewater couldn't execute at the plate when they needed to, stranding 10 runners.
"You got to be able to score runs," co-coach Ed Fitzgerald said. "We had a lot of chances."
"When wasn't I worried?" Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins said. "That's how we play. Sometimes you get lucky.
"Hey, flip a coin tomorrow night and [West Bridgewater] walks out of here with a win. We got a break."
For West Bridgewater, it was an uncharacteristic day on the field. Mayflower league MVP Meg Dow was silent at the plate, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and reaching on a fielder's choice. The Wildcats also committed an error - a Miller blunder on a routine grounder at third, their first error in tournament play.
"As long as tomorrow morning we can look in the mirror and know we gave it everything we had, then there's no problem." Fitzgerald said.
His colleague and co-coach Zanca nodded. "And I think every one of them did." 