Norwood Halts Walpole Coaster Ride
For the last three days, the Walpole High School softball team has been riding an emotional roller coaster.
The ride came to a screeching halt yesterday as the Rebels, playing their second game in as many days, were soundly beaten by Bay State League rival Norwood, 11-3, in the first round of the MIAA EMass Division 1 South sectional softball tournament.
Walpole fell victim to itself as nine Rebel errors – seven in the first two innings – led to eight unearned Norwood runs, while Mustang pitcher Kathleen Hilliard was holding the visitors to just four hits. “The kids have played under tough circumstances the last couple of days,” Rebel coach Peter Turco said, referring to the recent death of a Walpole student who was close to many of the team members. “Today, we just couldn’t get past the first inning.”
Walpole pitcher Tracey Smith didn’t have much luck from the start. She mishandled a grounder which allowed Maura Herlihy to reach base in the first inning, followed by consecutive bunt singles by Melinda Moleon and Sue Lynch to load the bases. Following a strikeout, Carissa Metta sliced a bloop single to center field to score Herlihy. A throwing error on the play plated Moleon, and Laura Connolly continued the barrage with a two-run bloop single to right. The Mustangs then cashed in on some Walpole generosity. Connolly and Narekian eventually scored when Narekian’s grounder to shortstop was followed by three consecutive throwing errors.
The Mustangs (17-2) went right back to work in the second frame. An error and a walk set the table for Jessica Breen, who singled in a run. Two outs later, Narekian hit a shot just inside the third base bag to plate two more runs.
“To be honest, I thought we’d be more nervous than they were,” Norwood coach John Solomon said. “We’ve got a good offensive team and a great defensive team and we finally showed all of it today.”
Walpole (12-8) finally got to Hilliard in the fourth inning when Linda De Michele drove in Mary Beth Connolly, who had reached earlier on a three-base error. Two more Mustang miscues led to another score. Patti Burns scored the Rebels’ final run in the seventh inning on a wild pitch. Norwood added an insurance run in the fifth on a Debbie Smith groundout, and another in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Kristen Cieri to close out the definitive tournament victory.
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