A Close Win for Mansfield Softball

After a slow start, the Mansfield High girls' softball team rallied for a 7-6 win over Stoughton at home Tuesday afternoon.

The Black Knights scored first in the game, when in the first inning Jessica Olans hit a double with the bases loaded to bring in three runners. They followed it up with two more runs in the third when Meghan Flaherty hit a single after Jordan Andrews hit a triple.

Mansfield was not out of it yet, however, as they fired back in the bottom of the third inning with Trica Hansen’s double bringing in a run. They fired back in the bottom of the third inning with Hansen’s double bringing in a run. Her double was promptly followed by Kelly English’s double to bring in two more runs, putting the Hornets on the board, 5-3.

At that point, the Hornets were just now starting to get their groove, keeping the Knights at bay on defense while gaining momentum at the plate. At the bottom of the fifth inning, Mansfield tied it up with an RBI from senior Jessica Cooney. Then two consecutive triples from English and Jamie Mall took Mansfield into the lead, 7-5.

However, Stoughton still had some game left up their sleeves. Meghan Flaherty hit  one up to far left field, easily making it home for an infield home run. Nicole Beauregard and Megan Guerard each followed up with a single, but the last batter grounded out to allow Mansfield to get the one run win.

Defensively, Stoughton made some great plays. The infield worked like clockwork to keep Mansfield in the hole during the first few innings. Jess Frieatas made two difficult catches on two line drives to second base, which could have easily flown over her head to make base hits. In right field, Beauregard made a great catch in the outfield as well.

Mansfield, according to head coach Jinneane Sperrazza, took a few innings to find their momentum.

“We were lackluster in the first couple innings,” she said. “We were just not making the routine plays; it was like an out-of-body experience. As soon as we had that one inning, we got on a roll.”