Softball Sports Spring Sports

Girls Softball Secure Two Victories

Colby Beré ’18 made a catch off a foul ball and quickly tagged out a runner after realizing that the runner had moved on to second base without tagging up, which resulted in a double play. These efforts contributed to Andover Softball’s 14-0 defeat of St. Paul’s on Wednesday. This win followed Andover’s 6-4 victory over Governor’s on Friday.

Jacque Harrington ’20 said “I think the game went very strongly overall. We were hitting very well and had solid defense all throughout the game.”

On Friday, pitcher Jordan Penoyer ’18 dominated on the field, striking out five and letting up only four hits against Governor’s, securing a win on Friday after six runs in the second inning.

Penoyer said, “Both games went really well. Tonight we finished up with a score of 14-0. Last week’s game against Governors ended with a score of 6-4, which was a tough, but deserved win.”

According to Penoyer, Rachel Moore ’19 and Cassidy Musco ’19 also had strong performances on Friday.

“During the game last week against Governors, Rachel Moore and Cassidy Musco had a good hitting streak with Rachel hitting twice, and Cassidy racking in three RBI’s,” said Penoyer.

According to Katie Morris ’21 and Shahinda Bahnasy ’20, on Wednesday, an early lead and positive energy allowed for Andover to sweep St. Paul’s and provided an opportunity for the players to try out new techniques.

“The game started out in the first inning, with a quick six runs. We held off before scoring more to finish off St. Paul’s. I think there were only one or two strikeouts against us,” Morris said.

“I think it’s easy to assume based on the score that we did very well. Based on group environment during the game and positive vibe, I think everyone on the team tried their hardest and a lot of people were trying new things. Our coach tried us in different places and did things that were different from before. Because of that, it made for an exciting game,” added Bahnasy.

According to Bahnasy, Emma Slibeck ’20 had an outstanding performance as pitcher on Wednesday.

“Emma pitched the entire game. She did a fantastic job throughout the entire game. Most of her first pitches were strikes and struckout many girls. It was difficult for many girls to hit against her. She also had many great hits apart from playing really good defense. Her pitches were on point, making it hard for the opponents to hit, and she even had a few [runs batted in],” said Bahnasy.

According to Hannah Cuff ’21 and Bahnasy, Andover had a strong performance at the plate on Wednesday.

“Overall I think the game went very well against St. Paul’s. We did a great job playing at the level that we can play at, not playing down to their level,” said Cuff. “We did a great job hitting the pitcher this game. In previous games, we have not been able to time the pitchers correctly… This game we really made sure to wait for our pitch to hit, so that resulted in many more people on base.”

Bahnasy added, “The pitcher was slower than we were used to so we were able to hit more. We won by mercy, and we were happy because it was very cold. In the beginning of the game we thought that with many hits we would be able to finish off the game and leave the cold.”

According to Penoyer, the team was able to perform very well in both games using spirit and energy.

“Our team keeps the energy up every game making it easier to keep our heads focused in the game. Our defense also is standing out — making it a habit to not let many people get on base,” said Penoyer.

Although the team defeated both opponents, there are still areas to improve, according Penoyer.

“Typically our team needs to work on our offensive skills. We have some pretty good hitters in the line up, but we need to learn to adjust to what the umpire decides the strike zone is that game,” said Penoyer.

According to Bahnasy, the weather has affected how the team has been playing this season.

“The wind caught us off guard because the wind moving the ball in different directions messed up our catches. This has been a struggle for us in the season. The wind can move the ball so easily and can mess us up during the game,” said Bahnasy.

Andover will play against North Reading High School this Saturday and Andover High School as a rescheduled game.