GEORGETOWN — It’s a single that Maddie Grant and Georgetown will be thinking about for a long time.
… Okay, not really.
But just two outs away from a five-inning perfect game on Sunday morning, a visiting batter from No. 34 Mahar connected on a dribbler that took a pair of awkward bounces, before eventually finding the glove of shortstop Victoria Barbarick. By that point, though, the runner was already safely aboard first base, “ruining” what was almost a perfect start for No. 2 Georgetown in its Division 5 state tournament opener.
“That hit everything in its path!” laughed Georgetown coach Anne Grant. “It was like it hit the mound, it bounced around, it was just a weird hit.”
But, yeah, it all really didn’t matter by that point.
Georgetown was already ahead by more than three touchdowns, and following a groundout and a strikeout, it was celebrating a dominant 23-0 shutout of Mahar in the Div. 5 first round. The senior captain Grant was excellent as per usual, just overpowering her way to the five-inning one-hitter with 10 strikeouts. And it’s a victory that advances the Royals (17-4) to the Round of 16 for the fourth straight year, where they’ll now host No. 15 Greenfield — the D5 champions in 2023 and last year’s state runner-up — at a date and time not yet announced.
“She had a great presence in the circle today,” said Coach Grant of her daughter. “She just dominated. She was just trying to pound the strike zone and she did, and the chemistry between her and (catcher) Ellie (Barbarick) was great. They had a plan going in, and it just worked.”
And it didn’t take long for Georgetown to give its pitcher some support.
The Royals immediately struck for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, with a two-run triple from Gillien Figueroa (1-for-1, 3 BBs, 5 RBI) being the big hit. Then an inning later, the trio of Figueroa, Meghan Maguire and Mia Girard all had RBI-singles to fuel a six-run frame to make it 10-0. Walks and errors led to four more runs in the third, then the Royals put up a nine-spot in the fourth in large part thanks to a grand slam from Maguire (2-for-4, 5 RBI).
Victoria Barbarick smacked a triple, and older sister Ellie walked four times. Over the last four years now, Georgetown has won its opening round Division 5 playoff games by a combined score of 52-12.
“They’re just ready,” said Coach Grant. “I keep telling them, every game, don’t expect anything. Don’t expect to win, and don’t expect the (opponent) to be a certain way. We’ve noticed this year that some teams that we may have mercy-ruled last year, were very good this year. We’re not the same team, and they’re not the same team. So I always tell them to play your game, and stay at your game level the entire time.
“And they did that today.”
AMESBURY: Only five innings needed to slug past prelims
This one was over early.
On a dreary Friday afternoon, it only took five innings for No. 24 Amesbury to put its foot down and beat No. 41 Quaboag in the Division 4 preliminary round, 15-3. The visitors actually struck first and plated a run in the top of the first inning, but the Redhawks (7-11) responded with two in the bottom of the frame, three more in the second, and six runs in the third to pull away.
At the plate, Katelyn Cronin led the way by going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Emme Houlihan went 2-for-4 with a triple, Charlotte Costigan smacked a double and had three RBI, and Harper Walker (3 RBI), Ana Gordon and Lydia Hunt all had hits. Then in the circle, Sofia Le struck out six to earn the win, while only one of the runs she allowed was earned.
Amesbury advances to the Div. 4 first round, where it’ll travel down to No. 9 Lunenburg on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
TRITON: Solid battle, but Vikings can’t pull mega-upset
The entire state would have been talking about this one had it happened.
But taking down the top team in Division 4 was just too much to ask.
It was going to take basically a flawless game for No. 32 Triton to upset No. 1 Advanced Math & Science in the first round of the Div. 4 state tournament on Sunday afternoon. Something that the Vikings unfortunately weren’t able to put together, as an unsustainable eight errors led to a season-ending loss to the Eagles in five innings, 14-1.
Sarah Zahornasky smacked an RBI-double in the top of the fifth inning for the lone hit of the day for Triton (8-14), scoring Grace O’Neill who had drawn a walk. But the Eagles (19-0) put their talons down early in this one, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding four more in the second.
For Triton, it’ll be tough to say goodbye to four-year senior varsity stalwarts Ava Johnson and Audrina Owens. But the Vikings are in line to return the bulk of their roster next spring, which should include Maggie Rennick, Addi Ewell, Katie Clemenzi, Zahornasky and O’Neill.