May 18, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School: You could tell it was going to be a pitchers’ duel when each team racked up six strikeouts in the first three innings, with AB ace Aislinn Ryan going toe-to-toe with Concord-Carlisle’s Alex T.
In the second inning, Ryan whiffed three batters, all caught looking. (This means the batters didn’t swing at the ball.) But in the third, the Patriots’ bottom of the order got the ball rolling (or flying) to start a string of four straight hits, including a double, to break the ice with two runs. The Revs avoided further damage when shortstop Alice Rosecan ended the inning with a diving stab of a line drive.
AB hit back in their half when Julia Abeele singled and stole second, Rosecan did the same, and, with two outs, Georgia Ammendolia drove them both in to tie the game. The inning ended on a strikeout.
CC answered in the fourth, after the first two batters reached on a walk and error, respectively, advanced on a throwing error, and scored on a double by Liv S. In the Revs’ half, Ila Gillespie walked and reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Cassidy Ford, but Alex T. induced a groundout to end the fourth.
The Revs put the brakes on CC’s offense in the fifth, with shortstop Rosecan catching two popups, and Gillespie one. In the bottom of the frame, the AB offense also went down quietly, with only Lainey Manfredi reaching base after being hit by a pitch. She came up short attempting to steal, and a flyout to right ended the inning.
Pitcher Ryan seemed to get even stronger in the late innings, with a 1-2-3 sixth, including two more K’s (strikeouts) (both looking). But, trailing by two, the home team had to get to work. Stacey Loram reached on an error with one out and advanced on a single by Ryan. A wild pitch advanced both runners, and Ford walked to load the bases. Alexis Haff saw a fastball she liked, and hit a base-clearing double to center, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs. Two strikeouts ended the inning.
The Patriots’ Liv S. led off with a walk in the seventh, followed by flyouts to second and center. The next batter hit a grounder to Rosecan, who flipped to Loram to force the runner, ending the game.
All in all, a pitching showcase with twenty total strikeouts, augmented by tight defenses, with a total of only two errors.
Coach Kara O’Riley’s squad traveled to Hudson on May 21, and closed out the regular season on May 22 when it hosted Leominster.
James Conboy is the Acton Exchange sports beat reporter.
