Mt. Hope senior pitcher Reily Amaral struck out 11 batters and the Huskies offense bashed 14 hits as the girls softball team crushed Lincoln 9-1 in a league game at the high school on a chilly Thursday afternoon. Amaral’s command was outstanding as she mixed her blazing fastball with a variety of off-speed pitches.  She gave up just five hits and one run on a homer by Lincoln senior Morgan White in the first inning. 

“It’s been a really good start to the season,” said Amaral. “We lost some really good players and to win, has been a boost to the team.”

“Reily’s throwing well,” said head coach Craig Giarrusso. “However we do is going to rely on her.”

Mt. Hope beat Portsmouth 7-0 in their first game of the season and are currently 2-0 in Division II. The Huskies have been contenders each of the last two seasons due in part to the superb pitching of Amaral. In 2022 Mt. Hope suffered a heart breaking 3-2 walk off loss in the tenth inning to Prout in the Division II championship and in 2021 they fell to Burrillville/North Smithfield 6-3 in the Division III championship. This season the team has a good mix of veterans and new players and Amaral is optimistic about her team’s chances. 

“I think that we are going to do really well,” said Amaral. “Obviously in the beginning of the season we have to figure stuff out. We may have a rocky start, but so far we’ve done great and I think we are just going to keep getting better, honestly.”

The Huskies' are sporting three new freshman and a sophomore in the starting nine. Catcher Ava Waddell, second baseman Hailey Ferreira and right fielder Sofia Haberman are all new to the team. Coach Giarrusso also moved speedy junior Elsa White to center field and sophomore Anna VanAmberg to left field this season. Senior Sammy Malafronte is at first base, Junior Julia Allen is at shortstop and junior Sydney Crowell is at third base. 

At catcher, Waddell is stepping up to the huge task of catching Amaral, one of the best pitchers in the league.

“I can’t say enough about Ava,” said Coach Giarrusso. “She’s going to be really, really good. Offensively she’s really solid. Defensively she’s got a strong arm and knows her position very well.”

Coach Giarrusso said that the tough part of catching Amaral is the movement on her variety of pitches. 

“Reily has great movement,” he said. “They are tough to catch and Ava’s doing a great job.” 

Ferreira has also been solid at second base. 

“Hailey’s been great defensively,” Coach Giarrusso said. “She’s fast and gets to balls. She has a good arm. Offensively she started to come through a bit today after struggling last game. I like the progress that she’s making right now.”

Offense wakes in the third inning

The Huskies offense pounded Lincoln pitcher Lauren Cipriano for 14 hits and 9 runs. Though Lincoln held a 1-0 lead until the Huskies broke the game open and scored seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. Third baseman Sydney Crowell belted a triple to the right field gap to score Julia Allen and Elsa White and give Mt. Hope a 2-1 lead. Crowell, a junior, had an excellent day at the plate, smacking a pair of hits, driving in two runs and scoring two runs. 

“Sydney was a big stick last year. I expect her to be another big stick this season,” said Coach Giarrusso. 

Allen and White also were solid at the plate. Allen went 3 for 3 with three singles an RBI and a run scored and White went 2 for 3 with a single and a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored. 

“Elsa was solid all last year,” Coach Giarrusso said. “She’s right back where she was last season.”

The Huskies scored five more runs during the third. Crowell scampered home on a hit by Amaral. Sammy Malafronte smashed a double to right field to score freshman Ava Waddell and senior Kylie Rolando, running for Amaral, to give Mt. Hope a 5-1 lead. Malafronte and Hailey Ferreira both scored during the inning to increase the lead to 7-1. Crowell scored again in the fourth inning and freshman Sofia Haberman scored in the fifth inning to make it 9-1. 

The Huskies' host Middletown on Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Cranston West on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.. They travel to East Greenwich on Monday at 4:30 p.m.