Heading into Saturday’s game against rival Deerfield, Girls’ Varsity Softball looked to maintain its five-game winning streak. A night of downpour created a muddy field, but the conditions did not stop the both teams from giving their best. Since Saturday’s game was the only game scheduled this season between Choate and Deerfield’s Girls’ Varsity Softball teams, both teams were going to leave it all out on the field. After an amazing all-around effort by the whole team, Choate handily defeated Deerfield 15-5, forcing a victory and ending the game after just five innings.
The top of the first inning saw a great defensive effort by Choate when Rachel Pittman ’22 caught a quick ground ball, leading to a double play. A triple by Indi DelRocco ’21 on the bottom of the first inning gave Choate an early one-run lead going into the second inning. After Deerfield stole home on a past ball, Choate conceded a run but closed out the second inning by regaining the lead after two hits and steals by Lani Day ’21 and Hadley Rogers ’21.
However, this lead was short-lived as several big hits by Deerfield during the top of the third inning, followed by an error on a throw to first base, gave Deerfield a 5-3 lead. Choate returned the favor by scoring three more runs after another big hit by DelRocco, a sacrifice fly by Rogers, and a pivotal single by catcher Lexington Secreto ’21.
The scope of Choate’s team effort was evident in the final two innings as the team’s impeccable defense, and an exceptional catch by pitcher co-captain Bella Morizio ’20 kept Deerfield scoreless. When Choate was at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, each player came up big as the team batted around the order, exploding for six runs. The team’s confidence and high spirits carried over to the bottom of the fifth inning when the team scored another three runs and forced a mercy-rule victory over Deerfield.
This year’s victory was especially sweet for the team, compared their unfortunate losses in past years. Co-captain Kali Lawrence ’20 said, “Our freshman year, Deerfield came here and beat us 22-0 in three innings and took a picture under our scoreboard while we were cleaning up, which sucked. This year, we ‘mercy’d’ them and took a picture under our scoreboard. I think it’s a great representation of how our program has changed for the better.”
When asked about the progress Girls’ Varsity Softball has made in the past years and the current undefeated record, Morizio said, “It just feels good for Kali and me and for the people who have been here since freshman year because that year, we had to deal with our entire season thrown away because we would get ‘mercy’d’ every game. It’s nice to see how much our team has turned around.”
The team’s head coach, Mr. Edrik Lopez, added that the team’s unique depth has been a reason for the team’s success against Deerfield and in prior games. “What’s been amazing about this season is that we haven’t been dependent on one or two players in any of our victories,” he said. “For instance, today, one of our first-year students hit a shot to left field and hit a double at a crucial time, and in other instances, it has been our junior captains that have been stepping up to the plate. There has never been where one player has been the key to one single game.”
Following the win against Deerfield, Girls’ Varsity Softball hopes to use its momentum from their Saturday win to close out the season with more victories and possibly make a run in the New England Playoffs.
