1 week Ago
BRAINTREE - After falling to Abington on April 17, the Braintree softball team had 11 days off to reset before its next contest. The team was winless to start the year and needed to find a way to turn its season around following school vacation. “Truthfully, we tried to approach it as coming back from April break with a clean slate and just starting from scratch,” Braintree coach Katie Jenkins said.
“Having that clean slate and being able to move forward in a positive direction and work uphill versus dwelling on how the start of the season went.” With that fresh approach, the Wamps (1-8) battled with Framingham (3-6) Monday afternoon. Braintree overcame an early three-run deficit to beat Framingham 9-5 and capture their first win of the season.
“It’s exciting,” Braintree’s freshman shortstop Brooke Wilson said. “It’s awesome and I think we earned it. “I think it was nice for everyone to have a rest but we jumped right back at it.
We had a great, long practice yesterday and everyone’s continuing to fight.” Freshmen Brooke Wilson (left) and Ryleigh Donnelly (right) celebrate their first win with Braintree softball. Peyton Doyle The start of the game was shaky for the Wamps.
The first three Flyers, Shelby Kiklis, Savanna Barrett, and Riley Kiklis, all singled and scored in the first inning. After some trouble in the field allowed the first two runners to score, cleanup hitter Chloe Nestor drove in the third with an RBI single. Chloe Nestor stands at the plate for Framingham softball.
Peyton Doyle The Wamps though weren’t fully deterred by the 3-0 hole. After Jaclyn McPhee walked and stole second, Braintree had a runner in scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the frame. From there, Lexi Donahue delivered her own RBI single to score McPhee and cut the lead to two.
Jaclyn McPhee walks then scores the first run of the game for Braintree softball against Framingham. Peyton Doyle After giving up the four straight hits to start the contest, Braintree’s pitcher Audrey Leung started to settle in. Leung started the second inning with a strikeout and allowed just one baserunner the rest of the frame.
In the middle innings, the junior stayed firm. In the third, fourth, and fifth, the Flyers only scored one run, a little league home run from Nestor in the third that featured multiple Wamp errors. “She did a phenomenal job pitching today,” Jenkins said about Leung.
“She’s coming back from an injury from before break, so I think having break was a good chance for her to kind of rest up and come back strong.” Braintree softball pitcher Audrey Leung. Peyton Doyle With Leung holding off Framingham, Braintree’s offense began to find a new gear.
Harvey, and Wilson kicked off the top of the third with singles to put runners on for McPhee, the team’s No. 3 hitter. McPhee then delivered with a double to plate both and cut the deficit to 4-3 After a quiet fourth, Braintree got going once more in the fifth inning thanks to the top of its order.
To leadoff the inning, Wilson doubled with a 1-2 count, her second hit of the game, and advanced to third on a throwing error. “She’s a leader as a freshman and I love watching her when she gets two strikes on her because she knows it doesn’t matter,” Jenkins said about Wilson. “She knows that she can still get a hit.
She never allows herself to feel like she can’t do something.” Brooke Wilson connects with a ball for Braintree softball. Peyton Doyle With Wilson on third and nobody out, Jenkins called on McPhee to lay down a bunt.
The senior placed the ball perfectly, scoring Wilson to tie the game and reaching first safely. Two batters later, McPhee scored on an error to take the lead. “[McPhee] is a constant for us, I know that when she’s up, something’s gonna happen, whether its getting a hit or reaching base or getting a perfect bunt laid down for us,” Jenkins said.
“With her speed she’s really able to make things happen on the base paths.” Jaclyn McPhee lays down a bunt for Braintree softball. Peyton Doyle In the top of the sixth, the Flyers tied the game at five after Giovanna Salvati drove in Talia Murga.
The Wamps though did not settle. Freshman Sophie Carroll singled to kick things off for Braintree. After she was replaced by pinch runner Kate Fosco, Harvey brought Fosco home with a single to recapture the lead for good.
After Wilson reached on a single and stole second, Lexi Donahue drove her and Harvey in to make the contest 8-5. In total, Wilson scored three times for the Wamps and tallied two hits as the team’s second hitter and starting shortstop. Combined with Carroll at catcher and Ryleigh Donnelly in the outfield, the Wamps have three freshmen they can be sure to rely on in the years to come.
“I think it brings a lot of hope to the team,” Wilson said. “We continue to have a lot of freshman starting and playing and I think that shows a lot for our future teams.” After Donahue’s double, she was driven in by Kendall O’Neill to make it 9-5.
In the top of the seventh, Leung made quick work of the Flyers, sending them down one, two, three. With the final putout, the Wamps sealed the comeback and their first win of the year. “It speaks to the growth that we’ve made,” Jenkins said.
“This is a very young team and at the halfway point of the season, they’re really getting that maturity and understanding that the game’s not over after one bad inning or one bad play. They’re able to keep battling and improve each inning.” Next, Braintree will have its first road game in over three weeks as it travels to face Natick on Wednesday at 4 p.
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