ANDOVER — From her spot in the on-deck circle, with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Central Catholic’s Bella Boyer had no doubt in her mind.
Her longtime teammate Olivia Moeckel was going to deliver.
Then, standing on second base following a double, it was Moeckel that was sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt. It was Boyer’s turn, and the Raiders were heading home.
“Totally confident,” said Moeckel with a smile. “Bella has been amazing for us all season. She’s been amazing for years. I knew she was going to do what it took for the team. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but she got me in for the win.”
After Central Catholic mustered just three hits through six innings, Raider senior Moeckel delivered a booming double to right field with one out in the seventh. Then classmate Boyer followed, blasting a liner to the right-center field gap, sending home Moeckel and giving the Raiders a thrilling 2-1 walkoff victory over rival Andover High in a game that was moved due to field conditions at Central.
“It was a little weird getting a walkoff at Andover’s field, but it felt really good,” said Boyer with a laugh. “I think it all came together at the end. Andover was so tough, but it the job of me and the seniors to keep the team in the game, and we earned the win.”
Heading into the seventh, Boyer and Moecke were a combined 0 for 4 with a pair of walks. But a slow start wasn’t about to faze the veteran pair.
The duo, after all, are four-year varsity contributors — Boyer in the outfield and Moecke at catcher and outfield — who were both key pieces in Central Catholic’s run to the Division 1 state title game in 2023 and the Division 1 semifinals a year ago.
Both have delivered on the biggest stages in Massachusetts softball, so while Andover’s pitchers were dealing on Thursday, neither was fazed.
“I’ve learned a lot over the years, from the past seniors and experience,” said Boyer. “I want to pass along the knowledge and deliver for the young kids. The same with Olivia. I was easily confident. Mo is a beast. I knew she could do it.
“When I got up, I was just looking for a good, hard hit. I just wanted to make contact and get the runner moving. Once it came off my bat, I knew it was good contact, and I was pretty sure it was going to fall in, and it did.”
Moecke, who had struck out in her first two at-bats, was also hungry to contribute, nearly ending it herself with a shot that found the wall before rolling out of play.
“I knew I had to do something for my team,” she said. “I hadn’t done anything to contribute for my team to that point. My coach told us, big players step up in big situations, and I had to step up. I needed to get on base, and after that I knew Boyer was going to bring me home.”
The two feel like the Raiders (9-1), the No. 6 team in the latest MIAA Power Rankings, are in position to make another tournament run.
“I think going forward we have to keep our heads down and keep fighting,” said Boyer, “and we’ll be just fine.”
Central Catholic 2, Andover 1
Andover (1): Fraser c 2-1-1, Purtschert lf/p 1-0-0, Rittershaus 1b 3-0-0, Baldwin ss 3-0-1, Thiele rf 3-0-0, Gath cf 3-0-1, Caroline Samara 1-0-0, Koehn 2-0-0, Naffah 2b 2-0-0. Totals 20-1-3
Central Catholic (2): Salerno p 3-1-0, Clements lf 3-0-0, Milner ss 3-0-1, Moeckel 3-1-1, Boyer cf 3-0-1, Perotta 3b 3-0-0, Goc 1b 2-0-0, O’Connell 2-0-1, Ovalles DP 2-0-1. Totals 24-2-5
RBI: A — Rittershaus; CC — Boyer
WP: Salerno; LP: Purtschert
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