BEVERLY – The best way to start a tournament run is by going against a team of equal strength.
On paper, Sunday’s Div. 1 softball tilt was billed as a showdown between 16th-seeded Beverly and No. 17 Weymouth. Thanks to rising ace Jillian Ondrick, the Wildcats coasted onward. The junior tossed a complete game, allowing two runs (neither earned) to go with three hits while striking out 13, as the Wildcats (12-9) clinched a trip to the Round of 16 with a 6-2 win over the Panthers in their playoff opener.
“We just did what we’ve done all season,” said Weymouth softball coach Vanessa Haen. “We have to treat each at-bat and each inning as its own individual piece. What we’ve been working on all season is picking each other up when we make mistakes. We know we’re going to make mistakes, and that’s OK. But picking each other up, and making sure that our mistakes don’t compile and that we don’t let them kill us? I think that’s what saved us in this game, being able to know that the rest of the players were going to make the next play, no matter what happens.”
Early on, Ondrick found herself in a pitchers’ duel with Beverly star Lidia Miedema. It was in the third inning in which the Wildcats were able to capitalize, as senior captain Paige Sellon blooped a single to center. Two runs crossed, and Weymouth drew first blood with a 2-0 advantage.
After Beverly (14-6) responded in the bottom of the fourth by plating a run, Bella Pires stepped up to the dish in the top of the fifth for Weymouth. The sophomore launched a moonshot to left-center, which cleared the fence for a solo homer to provide the Wildcats a 3-1 edge.
“I feel like it was a great team effort,” said Ondrick. “We made the plays, and we definitely hit the ball more than we usually do, which was really good. I think overall, it was a great team effort.”
Yet, Beverly was not finished. In the bottom of the sixth, Athena McKenna laced an RBI double to left, as the Panthers cut things to 3-2.
In the team’s final at-bat, however, Weymouth slammed the door shut on any hopes of a miraculous comeback. After the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out, Sellon drew a walk to push the lead to 4-2. Viv Palazzo followed with a two-run single, and the Wildcats suddenly had broken things open in shocking fashion.
“You cannot take your swings home,” said Haen. “So their willingness to be aggressive, to just swing at strikes and put them in play (was huge). We know our strengths and weaknesses.”
The road does not ease up for Weymouth, however. The Wildcats will take on the state’s top-ranked team in undefeated Taunton next.
“We’re going to have to take at least the next few days to figure out what our plan is against Taunton,” said Haen. “Not that we were looking ahead of this game, but seeing Taunton so early was something that we know we got unlucky with. So, it’s just honestly about fixing the little things.”
Haen continued.
“We beat teams that are really, really strong,” Haen said. “So, seeing Taunton, we know they’re going to be strong. But if we just keep doing the little things right, we will be OK.”
