BYFIELD — Well, if you’re going to struggle, better to get all of the mistakes out in the same game, right?
Wash away all of the bad in one sitting, then start over.
That was the message the Georgetown softball team relayed to itself following Wednesday’s humbling experience at Triton. The one-loss Royals came in as the No. 2-ranked team in all of Division 5, having already picked up surprising wins against Lynnfield and Essex Tech this spring. Results — and, to be honest, the actually roster talent to back it up — to make one think that maybe, just maybe, the Royals could hang with the Vikings this year.
Um, not so fast.
After a scoreless first inning, Triton exploded over the next two to pile up an impressive 21 runs on its way to a statement 21-0 victory in five innings. Crazy enough, Georgetown didn’t commit any errors in the field all game. But 12 total walks surrendered and 7 hit batters will never improve your chances of winning, especially going against a talented, deep and opportunistic lineup that features plenty of faces that made it to the Division 3 Final Four just a year ago.
“I said to the girls today, whether or not Amesbury beat (Triton) this year, I think (Triton’s) the best team in the league,” said Georgetown coach Jay Santomassino. “You know, Amesbury beat them on one pitch, and they should have been out of the inning before that pitch anyway. So to me, Triton is the premier team in our league.”
For Georgetown (6-2), the whole ordeal was unfortunately a case of déjà vu.
A year ago almost to the day, the Royals traveled over to play Triton having just been named the No. 1 team in Division 5 with the release of the first MIAA power rankings. What followed, though, was a 17-5 flexing, and now flash forward a year later, and the Vikings did it to the Royals again — albeit with them being No. 2 instead of the “top dog.”
But the parallels are right there.
“(Georgetown) is improved,” said Triton coach Alan Noyes. “But we played clean today, so it feels good. The bottom line is that we’re playing better. We got a later start to the season, we didn’t have a full practice on our field until the first game. So we’re getting better and more comfortable in our own skin. We’re still learning, but we’re getting there.”
Which, yeah, maybe we buried the lede here: Triton (6-3) is darn good, folks.
There is still talent to burn from a roster that played in the state semis a year ago, and it was on full display on Wednesday. For starters, reigning Daily News and CAL Kinney MVP Emma Penniman delivered once again in the circle, striking out nine while scattering just four hits. The junior also went 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI, smacking both a two-run single and a two-run triple as part of a 14-run bottom of the third inning.
No, not a typo.
The Vikings first struck in the bottom of the second, when four straight walks and two hit batters brought in three runs. Up stepped Daily News All-Star shortstop Kyla Story to the plate with the bases loaded, and the senior promptly blasted the first pitch over the fence in left-center for a grand slam.
All of a sudden it was 7-0, and the wind was quickly out of Georgetown’s sails.
And as you could probably deduce, the third wasn’t any better.
The Vikings batted around the order twice as part of the 14-run inning. Besides Penniman, you also had catcher Skylar Colburn (2-for-4, 4 RBI) hit a pair of two-run singles during the frame, and Story drove in a run on a single for her fifth RBI of the day. Mallory Johnson (2-for-4, 2 RBI) had an RBI-double during the inning, Jillian Giusto had an RBI-single and the trio of Maddie January, Alex McManus and Izze Turner all had an RBI as well.
“We’re worried about us,” said Noyes. “Whoever we have to play, we have to play, and it happened to be them today. They’re improved, they didn’t make many mistakes today. But we’re getting better, and we have Emma. We have the best pitcher in the league, so we’ll take that.”
For the Royals, returning Daily News All-Star Ellie Barbarick continued her excellent freshman season with a 2-for-3 day. Ava Fair and Mackenzie Riley had the team’s other hits, and Riley — a sophomore — pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
“Just let this one go,” said Santomassino. “We said after the game that we’ve got practice tomorrow, and we’ll start again with our game on Friday. We came here last year, sky high as the No. 1 team in the state, and they handed it to us. So we’ll have to rebound the same way this year.”
Triton 21, Georgetown 0
Georgetown (0): Ellie Barbarick ss 3-0-2, Maddie Grant p 1-0-0, Brooke Thompson p/ph 1-0-0, Ava Fair c 2-0-1, Gillien Figueroa 3b 2-0-0, Talya Mariani 1b 1-0-0, Mia Girard ph 1-0-0, Mackenzie Riley rf/p 2-0-1, Jenna Johnson cf 2-0-0, Ava Ruggiero dh 2-0-0, Maddie Cirone lf 2-0-0, Cora Robinson 2b 0-0-0. Totals 19-0-4
Triton (21): Mallory Johnson rf 4-2-2, Skylar Colburn c 4-3-2, Kyla Story ss 4-3-2, Emma Penniman p 3-1-2, Jillia Giusto 1b 2-2-1, Ava Johnson 2b 0-3-0, Maddie January lf 1-2-0, Laura Zahornasky ph 1-1-1, Alex McManus cf 0-3-0, Izze Turner 1b 1-2-0. Totals 20-21-10
RBI: T — Story 5, Coburn 4, Penniman 4, Johnson 2, January, McManus, Turner
HR –T — Story
WP: Penniman; LP: Grant
Georgetown (6-2): 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Triton (6-3): 0 7 14 0 0 x — 21