BEVERLY — Lidia Miedema is always smiling. That, she said, comes from being a positive, glass-half-full thinker at all times.
But the grin she was wearing Monday afternoon appeared to be extra wide — and with good reason.
The standout freshman pitcher for Beverly High spun her first career no-hitter, striking out six without a walk as the Panthers blanked Marblehead, 4-0, at the high school field.
Fellow freshman Sophia Balducci, the team’s leadoff hitter, delivered the big blast offensively with her first varsity home run, a two-run blast to highlight a four-run third inning for the Orange-and-Black, who remained unbeaten in Northeastern Conference play at 10-0.
Miedema retired the first 15 Magicians she faced before hitting Tessa Andriano on the left arm leading off the sixth. That didn’t faze her, however, as she retired the next six hitters in order — half of those by strikeout — to complete her gem.
“I was aware of what was happening, but I didn’t worry about it. I was in the zone,” said Miedema, who was extremely efficient in throwing 46 of her 62 pitches for strikes. Only once she have to throw double digit pitches in one inning (11 in the third). “I enjoy knowing what I’m accomplishing, but in the moment it’s always just focusing on the next pitch.”
Head coach Megan Sudak, whose Panthers improved to 12-2 overall, said she didn’t have to converse with Miedema once during the course of the afternoon, that her ninth grade hurler was that dialed in.
“Every pitch we wanted her to throw, she threw,” said Sudak. “She was fantastic.”
Marblehead’s own mound ace, sophomore Tessa Francis, also had a fantastic game. She struck out 11 hitters and threw 58 of her 88 pitches for strikes; the only five hits against her came in that fateful third inning.
“Tessa pitched a great game … but obviously, so did their pitcher,” said Marblehead head coach Johnny Gold, his team 8-2 in NEC competition and 12-2 overall. “We put the bat on the ball, but nothing fell in and they made all the plays. And that one big inning by them killed us.”
Ironically, Miedema and Francis play on the same RES Angels club softball team.
Miedema singled up the middle to start the bottom of the third for Beverly, and a perfect sacrifice bunt up the third base line by Reese Kwiatek moved her to second base. Balducci then drove a 3-1 fastball over the fence in left-center for a 2-0 lead.
“It just came off the bat and I knew,” said Balducci, a left fielder. “I was hoping (Francis) would throw me a fastball where I like them — middle away — and that’s exactly where she threw it.”
“Sophia clearly has the ability to hit the long ball,” added Sudak. “I had her show a fake bunt in there at one point, but then gave her the sign to swing away. She hit it on the perfect spot on her bat.”
Francis got a grounder back to her for the second out of the inning, but Gabbi Wickeri followed with another single before Jasmine Feliciano’s double to left-center scored her all the way from first. Meredith Johnston followed with an RBI single to center, plating Feliciano.
Miedema took care of the rest. Working well with catcher Kat Tsmounis (“we’ve played club softball for three years and I trust her so much,” she said), the right-hander mixed her fastball and offspeed offerings well, inducing 10 groundouts, three outfield flyouts, a liner to second baseman Elsa Reulet, and a game-ending popup to Feliciano at short.
“It’s my dream to get out of an inning with just three pitches,” said Miedema. “I was loving our defense today.”
Catcher Luka Bornhorst had a fine game behind the dish for Marblehead as well, picking a Beverly runner off of first base with a snap throw to Lyla McGovern for the out.
“We’re a team that likes to run when we’re on base, but we didn’t get our bunts down today and that killed us,” said Gold. “We have to learn to put the ball in play better and stop swinging for downtown; rather, I want to see us hitting it up the middle. I don’t care about home runs; base hits win softball games, and we have to do a better job at that.”
Marblehead will play four of its next five games at home, beginning Wednesday against Winthrop.
Beverly has three tough games upcoming, starting Wednesday at Gloucester, Thursday vs. Malden Catholic in a non-league counter, and a rematch with second place Peabody next Tuesday on the road.