HUDSON – Gray skies, whipping winds and chilly rain couldn’t cool down Hudson’s softball team on Sunday night. The third-seeded Hawks trounced the No.35 Greater Lawrence Reggies, defeating the team 16-0 in a mercy-rule, five-inning contest.
The Hawks – who became back-to-back Central Massachusetts Athletic Directors Association Class B champions last week – hit the ground running and never looked back.
Alyssa Davis drew a leadoff walk to open the bottom of the first inning, Livi Sousa singled to mid-right field and Maddie Kiley lined a single up the middle. After several stolen bases and a timely wild pitch, all three baserunners were able to score, putting Hudson up 3-0 after the first inning.
It was more of the same in the bottom of the second. After the inning’s first four batters reached base, the Hawks consistently put the ball in play, challenging Greater Lawrence’s defense and creating traffic on the basepaths. By the end of the second, the Hawks had extended their lead to 8-0.
Hudson collected eight more runs in the following two innings. Just one day after graduating, Gracie Giorgio went 3-3 with three singles. Sousa went 2-4 with two singles.
However, Head Coach Laura Bowen told the Community Advocate that although she was pleased with the win, the team can become better.
“Do I think that we played our best? No. But, I think we did what we had to do,” Bowen said. “I like that everyone came in and was part of it, [but] we’ve got to hit better, and we really didn’t make the adjustments like I wish we did… We put it in play, we got the win, and we did what we had to do.”
The Hudson bats were hot, but the team’s pitching and defense had arguably the stronger performance.
Freshman Taylor Attaway faced only 17 batters during her five-inning, one-hit shutout. Attaway struck out six batters – four looking, two swinging – during her time on the mound. The defense backed Attaway up; her only two baserunners of the evening were promptly doubled up on defensive plays.
The MIAA tournament was Attaway’s first state playoff experience, and although Bowen acknowledged that playing against such difficult teams can be challenging, she commended her young pitcher.
“[Attaway is] young and we have a tough schedule, [but] she’s shutting down some of these teams we have to play. We play some great hitting teams. Obviously, the nerves come into play when you’re playing at our home field, [or at] states, [or in] lose-or-go-home [games], but I’m proud of her,” Bowen said.
With the win, the Hawks keep their season alive and soar into Round of 16 against Medway High School on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
“Our team’s been hitting very well, so we just need to continue to put up runs to take the pressure off our freshman picture and our defense. With 16 teams left, everyone’s good at this point, so you’ve got to come in and be mentally tough and mentally prepared,” Bowen said.
