Girls Softball faced Worcester Academy (Worcestor) on Saturday, though weather conditions postponed the game in its final inning. Before the delay, Andover trailed its opponent 1-5, positioned for a dramatic comeback with two runners on base and no outs.
The rain foiled Girls Softball’s final opportunity to snap back against Worcester. Andie Shim ’25 described the events leading up to the game’s pause.
“Toward the later part of the game, the dugout brought the energy, and I really want to shout out the whole team for continuing to bring the energy. I know we were down 5-1 in the top of the seventh, and for those of you who don’t know softball, games run for seven innings. This was our last opportunity to score, and we had two runners on base and no outs before the rain stopped our game. We were in progress. We hadn’t lost yet, but with the team’s energy, I had faith that we could definitely come back in the top of the seventh and win the game,” said Shim.
Co-Captain Madison Hugo ’25 continued, “As the game went on, we started improving gradually, especially offensively. And then we had Ashley [Schuman ’27] come into pitch for us for the last few innings before it started raining, and she was doing really awesome. And then it did, in fact, start raining, so it got cut short unfortunately. I don’t believe that there is technically a win or a loss. It was cut short in the last inning, and I don’t think that they can classify it as either a win or a loss.”
Toward the end of the game, Pitcher Schuman threw 33 times in her debut following an injury. Notably, she struck out the entire Worcester starting lineup, including an immaculate inning with nine straight strikes and three strikeouts in a row. Schuman’s return, Shim believes, represents a chance to raise the team’s level of play during the remainder of the season.
“She struck out everyone in her return, which is absolutely crazy. Ha ving that dominance on the mound is just going to give our dugout and our players even more energy going into the last part of our season,” said Shim.
In the first innings, however, the team struggled to challenge Worcester. Catcher Gabriella Potter ’27 described the team’s offensive struggles, stemming from its opponent’s unique pitching style.
“We started out a bit rocky. In the beginning, we were just struggling to get the bat on the ball, but our defense kept it pretty clean… we were used to seeing different pitching. It took a little bit of time to adjust,” said Potter
According to Hugo, despite its loss, the team’s spirit remains high and it looks forward to the rest of the season.
“We’re probably at the midpoint of the season. We have three games this upcoming week and then one next week before the [Big East] tournament. Just getting more practice in this next week and a half with Ashley pitching will be great for us, and then hopefully, we can do well in the tournament and potentially win it, because we have a considerable chance this year.”
Girls Softball will travel to Milton Academy on Thursday, host Lawrence Academy on Friday, and battle Concord-Carlisle on Saturday. It will face Austin Prep and Cushing on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
