Wolverines Inch Closer to Softball Tourney With Win

The Wolverines (9-9) are now just one win away from punching their ticket to the state tournament thanks to an 8-4 victory in Dover Monday afternoon against an already tournament-bound Dover-Sherborn squad.

Westwood, who needed five runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extras and eventually win 8-7 just weeks ago against the Raiders, jumped out to a much more aggressive start on Monday.

Leigha Valentine and Keira Travers hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the first inning, setting the tone early for the determined Wolverine offense.

“The biggest difference was we came out swinging the bats really well today,” said Westwood head coach Jonas Sherr. “Right from the first inning all the way down the order I thought we had some really good, professional at bats.”

D-S hung around early, as Maria Simek cut the lead in half with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the first. Westwood’s Kristina Barounis had an RBI groundout of her own in the third, giving the Wolverines a 3-1 lead, but the Raiders answered right back in the bottom half. Simek connected on a two-run single with the bases loaded, knotting the score up at three.

Westwood was too tough from the plate however and came up with timely hits all afternoon.

“Anytime there are runners on base, you always want to get the big hits," Sherr said. "Overall, we put a lot of pressure on them with good at bats, getting baserunners on, and when we had our chances, we got them in."

Molly O’Brien and Rachel Masotta each hit singles to lead off the fourth and were driven in by Valentine and Travers once again. Westwood tacked on two more in the fourth on a botched play by the Raider infield.

“They hit the ball and took advantage of errors we made,” said D-S head coach Jen Picardo. “They were aggressive on their base running and they made us make mistakes.” 

O’Brien had three singles for Westwood from the nine hole and Masotta had four from the leadoff spot all as part of a 15-hit effort.

“Molly had an at bat where she fouled off two or three pitches and on a full count, laced a single into left which set up a run and that’s pretty typical of the kind of at bats we’re having right now,” said Sherr. “(Rachel) has been hitting the ball extremely well over the last three weeks or so and she’s driving the ball the opposite way if need be. She’s getting on base and scoring runs and providing great leadership so we’re not in this position if it’s not for Rachel.”

Masotta and the rest of the offense provided more than enough run support for EB Messenio, who had another solid outing as she gave up eight hits and struck out 10, shutting out the Raider offense after the fourth inning. She is scheduled to throw again on Wednesday (Senior Day) at home against Medway.

The upcoming week for the Raiders will be a little more relaxed seeing as they have already clinched their spot in the tournament, but there are some things Picardo says she needs out of her team.

“We want to be playing the softball of the season," Picardo said. "We want the bats to come alive and minimize the mental mistakes and try to get the routine grounders and pop-ups. We are trying to fine tune everything and come into the tournament playing our best softball.”