Come state tournament time, the competition is only going to stiffen, and the team that makes the most opportune plays in tight games will have the edge in coming out on top.
Better to come to that realization now than when the one-and-done playoffs commence.
In a late regular season softball clash Monday afternoon between Gloucester and Beverly — two of the premier programs in the Northeastern Conference — the Fishermen made more of those big plays for six innings strong. But in the seventh, it was Beverly who broke things open, erasing a three-run deficit to regain the lead before pitcher Gabby Wickeri shut the door in the bottom of the frame to seal a 7-5 Panthers’ win.
“We started with an error, the panic set in and they couldn’t close the game,” admitted GHS coach Bryan Aiello, his team now 14-3 after having their five-game win streak snapped. “It’s something that we definitely have to work on because every game from here on out is going to be close. So we have to close games out; that’s it.”
Trailing 5-2 heading into the seventh, Beverly exploded for five runs to take the lead for good in what was a mess of a frame for Gloucester.
Jasmine Feliciano started things off, reaching on a fielding error and making her way to second base in the process. Wickeri then blooped a single to right, Elsa Reulet was hit by a pitch, and Wickeri made it home on a fielder’s choice ball from Athena McKenna.
Those first three batters helped open the floodgates, as Meredith Johnston connected for a two-RBI single and reached third on errors before stealing home on an errant pitch. Ella Campos then came through with a big double, Avery LeBlanc grounded out but advanced the runner to third, and Madeline MacNutt reached on an error which allowed another run to score.
Freshman ace pitcher Abby Noble, who has turned in a terrific debut campaign and struck out eight batters on Monday, finally got out of the frame by getting the ensuing batter to fly out, but the damage was already done.
“We know how good (the Fishermen) are; we’ve seen it and their non-league competition is fantastic,” said Beverly coach Megan Sudak, her team improving to 12-5. “But my kids put it together when we needed to. It wasn’t necessarily our best outing overall, but the thing I said to them was we can lay over and die or come back and play as a team and they did. They don’t give up.”
Every girl that took the plate in the decisive seventh inning did their job. But Johnston and Campos’ big hits were ultimately the difference.
“Meredith and Ella are both juniors and both have stepped up big time, especially the past couple of weeks,” said Sudak. “Meredith is so good hitting line drives, hitting for contact, and being a menace out there on the base paths as well.”
Still needing three outs to officially secure the victory, Wickeri (4 Ks) slammed the door with a quick 1-2-3 inning.
“I thought Gabby did well for us. To close it down and have the defense come up big like that when we needed it, we’re happy with that,” added Sudak.
Prior to the final frame, it was Gloucester that had answered the call early and often.
After Beverly took a 1-0 lead on a wild pitch in the second (it could’ve been worse, but Noble pitched her way out of a bases loaded jam with a clutch strikeout) the Fishermen scored twice in the fourth to go in front. Aleena Brown laid down a textbook bunt to send home Julia Carrancho (HBP) and Mackayla Allen put one in play for a sacrifice ground out to score another run.
Beverly tied it up in the fifth on a sac-fly from Athena McKenna, but Gloucester responded quickly by plating three in the bottom of the inning to build their lead. Carrancho had a big two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Dylan Gaetano (single) and Ava Paone (reached on error). Olivia Madruga then singled and eventually rounded the bases on errors and steals.
Gloucester did a lot of things well in the setback, but ultimately couldn’t string it all together down the stretch.
“I thought they executed some bunts really well, moved some runners, executed a suicide squeeze at one point … I thought their approach at the plate was good,” said Aiello. “But in the end it was just not enough. They made more plays than we did and that’s what it came down to.”
The loss shouldn’t hurt Gloucester — which already wrapped up the NEC Lynch Division crown and is ranked No. 7 in the Division 3 power rankings — too much. But the Fishermen would certainly love to finish strong, starting with a tough non-league bout against Bedford on Wednesday (3 p.m.). Gloucester lost the first battle earlier this season, 2-1.
As for Beverly, Sudak is hoping the win will give them the necessary momentum to go into the tournament with some confidence while earning at least a share of the NEC Dunn crown.
“If we can beat Salem (on Saturday in their season finale) we get at least a share of the conference. If Marblehead loses (to Gloucester on Saturday), we win the conference,” said Sudak. “We’re excited for the opportunity.”