Mt. Hope softball

Huskies blank Avengers 6-0, move on to loser's bracket semifinal

Mt. hope hosts Toll Gate at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday

Story and photos by Richard W. Dionne, Jr.
Posted 6/9/22

A pair of homers, great fielding and awesome pitching were the key as the Mt. Hope softball team shut out East Greenwich in the loser’s bracket quarterfinals at the high school on Wednesday afternoon. 

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Mt. Hope softball

Huskies blank Avengers 6-0, move on to loser's bracket semifinal

Mt. hope hosts Toll Gate at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday

Posted

A pair of homers, great fielding and awesome pitching were the keys as the Mt. Hope softball team shut out East Greenwich in the loser’s bracket quarterfinals at the high school on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Huskies will now host Toll Gate in the loser’s bracket semifinal on Saturday at 1 p.m. Toll Gate beat Mt. Hope 11-7 on Monday, thrusting the Huskies into a myriad of games in the loser’s bracket. Since that game, Mt. Hope has won two straight in two days and are eager for another crack at Toll Gate.

Flawless pitching and defense

Mt. Hope’s pitching and defense were flawless through out the seven inning game. Huskies starter Reily Amaral had her fast ball working as she was throwing loose and easy in the warm weather. The ace struck out seven including the side in the second inning. She allowed four hits and no walks. The defense made several big plays behind her in the field, particularly when the Avengers put the ball in the air. Catcher Grace Stephenson made a super catch on a pop fly in the top of the third inning that set the tone for the Huskies defense.  

East Greenwich leadoff hitter Ava Fairbanks sent a towering pop fly toward the backstop behind her in foul territory. The ball looked to be headed out of play, but stayed just inside the fence. Stephenson quickly rose from of her crouch, whipped off her helmet and sprinted to the base of the fence. She slammed into it, raised her glove above her head and snared the ball for the second out of the third inning. The catch seemed to deflate the Avengers. Amaral got two hitter Teaghan Bristol to feebly fly out to Alice Grantham to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.

 

 “We’re just standing there like JCPenney mannequins”

Offensively, the Huskies were having a difficult time with East Greenwich pitcher Ava Fairbanks who was throwing some heat of her own. Fairbanks had struck out four in the first two innings including Sammy Malafronte who looked at called strike three to end the bottom of the second inning. Head coach Craig Giarusso walking in from third base, had seen enough of that. “We got to start swinging the bats we’re just standing there like JCPenney mannequins,” he said as he urged the team to hit. 

“Let’s go.” 

The Huskies took it to heart and became more aggressive at the plate as they broke out for four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Julia Allen drew a one out walk and ran to second on an infield hit by lead off hitter Elsa White. With two on and two out, red hot three hitter Jayda Sylvia stepped to the dish and blasted a Fairbanks fast ball over the center field wall for a three run homer and a Mt. Hope 3-0 lead. 

“I scooched in on the plate, kept my hands in and drove the ball,” said Sylvia of the homer. “Coach told us that we had to be ready to play. They weren’t going to take it easy on us.” 

And Sylvia and the Huskies surely didn’t take it easy on the Avengers. Stephenson kept the rally going bashing a two out, bases empty, fly ball to right field. Avengers right fielder Layla Cameron misplayed the ball and it bounded off her glove. The senior saw the ball roll back to the fence as she rounded first base and stepped on the gas as she motored to third base. Coach Giarusso sent her home on a Fairbanks passed ball to give Mt. Hope a 4-0 lead. Amaral the team’s five hitter, drew a two out walk. Levesque then smashed a fly ball to right field and Cameron misplayed the ball again, allowing Kylie Rolando running for Amaral, to score and give Mt. Hope a 5-0 lead. But the right fielder recovered in time to throw out Levesque at second base for the third out of the inning as she attempted to stretch the hit.

 

Second homer

Sylvia added to Mt. Hope’s lead in the fifth inning when she crushed her second homer over the center field fence for a Huskies commanding 6-0 lead. The crowd shrieked at the rocketed shot as they knew it was gone as soon as it left the centerfielder’s bat. After she rounded the bases she pointed to he dad, who had called the shot. 

“The last few games Jayda has been hitting the ball very well,” said Coach Giarusso. “She made some adjustments on her own. She saw the ball very well and took a good swing at a good pitch and we got a great result. Twice.” 

 

Huskies defense preserves the shutout

Amaral and the Huskies defense bore down in the late innings to shut down the Avengers offense and preserve the shutout. Outfielders Elsa White, Logan Levesque and infielder Sydney Crowell and Amaral herself made plays down the stretch to squash East Greenwich rallies.

In the top of the fourth with a runner on first base, Margaret Neville sent a fly ball toward the left field line. Huskies shortstop Julia Allen ranged out to get it, but left fielder Elsa White called her off as she came charging over to make a running, right-handed basket catch for the second out of the fourth inning. Amaral again closed the inning out with another strike out. 

Levesque made two big catches in the fifth and sixth innings. With a runner on base, Ava Fairbanks put a charge into an Amaral pitch that looked to be over the head of Levesque in right field, but the soccer goalie tracked back and caught the ball for the third out of the inning.  Mt. Hope was up 6-0 and East Greenwich was desperate for a baserunner in the sixth. Bristol  sliced an Amaral pitch into the right centerfield gap. Levesque playing her straight up in the middle, sped to the ball, reached across her body with her glove and caught it just before it hit the ground, for the first out of the inning. The catch saved a sure leadoff double.

“I just see the ball, run at it and don’t stop until I catch it,” said Levesque, who is especially good at tracking the ball. “As a team we’ve been working on our communication and coach has us playing the ball first and then making plays.” 

“Logan can be quiet on the field and then get to a ball that most fielders wouldn’t get to. She’s plays steady and I couldn’t ask her to play any better than what she’s played all year.” 

Amaral got the next two hitters to ground out to third baseman Sydney Crowell to end the inning. Crowell looks to be healthy after nursing an injury in Monday’s game against Toll Gate. 

With one out and two runners on in the top of the seventh, Amaral took care of business with her glove. The pitcher snared a grounder and threw out Amanda Dronzek running to first base for the second out and caught a Sachi Chan liner to end the game. 

“The kids have stepped up and are playing amazing,” Coach Giarusso said. “It has been on them. It hasn’t been on the coaching staff. They have just rose to the occasion.” 

 

 

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