April 30, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School: Despite notching just one more hit than their opponents (7-6),and whiffing eight times to Wayland’s seven, the AB Revolution overran the visitors by taking advantage of six miscues, five walks, and aggressive baserunning. Wayland had hitting on their mind from the outset, with their second baseman Olivia Kirmelewicz leading a string of three straight singles in the first inning, after an initial groundout. Hits by Sophia Beckett and Kelsey Kaufman advanced Kirmelewicz, but she was tagged out at home for the third out, keeping Wayland off the scoreboard.
The Revs had better results with their hits, starting when Stacey Loram singled in Alice Rosecan, who had reached on a dropped third strike, and advanced on a passed ball. Aislinn Ryan then singled, and advanced when Ila Gillespie reached on an error. Cassidy Ford’s walk sent Gillespie to second, and a fielder’s choice by Alexis Haff sent Loram home for what would turn out to be the winning run.
For the next three innings, pitcher Aislinn Ryan and her staunch defense retired the Warriors quickly, allowing only one walk amidst five strikeouts and four groundouts. In their half of the second, the Revs added an insurance run after Rosecan and Georgia Ammendolia both singled and stole bases, and Rosecan scored on a groundout.
In the third, Wayland pitcher Beckett, who was mixing her fastball and changeup well, bookended three strikeouts around a walk to Cassidy Ford. But Ford made the best of it, advancing on a wild pitch, executing a double steal with Alexis Haff, who had also walked, and scoring on a throwing error, resulting in a 4-0 lead.
Alice Rosecan led off in the fourth with a double, and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ammendolia. The stage was then set for Stacey Loram, who bashed an exciting inside-the-park home run for three more tallies. Ryan then walked, advanced on a ground out and a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error. Ford provided the final run after walking, and advancing on an error and a ground out.
With one out in the fifth inning, Wayland showed signs of life, when Sophia Gorke singled, Vivian Brevard walked, and Kirmelewicz doubled to drive in Gorke to avert the shutout. But A9B first baseman Gillespie caught a popup to end the inning.
In the Revolution’s fifth, Lainey Manfredi reached on a dropped third strike, advanced to second on a throwing error, and stole third. She trotted home when Rosecan doubled, for her third hit of the day. Ammendolia walked, stole second, and scored on a throwing error. After a ground out and strikeout, Gillespie stroked a long drive to left, and slid in with a triple. That brought up Ford, who, having walked three times, laced a hard ground ball that was mishandled, allowing Gillespie to score. That invoked the “mercy rule”, which ends a game when a team leads by twelve runs after five innings.
The Revolution, now 7-1, prepared for a busy week, when they would host Dual County League opponents Lexington and Boston Latin, and travel to Bedford. Wayland’s record dropped to 5-3.
James Conboy is the Acton Exchange sports beat reporter.
