On April 23, softball took a tough loss to the Clark Crusaders, 4-1, in a contest that was decided by a few timely hits.
The game opened with a scoreless first inning, with neither team breaking through. They both struggled to capitalize on early chances before offenses began to pick up.
In the bottom of the second inning, Clark ripped a double over the center fielder’s head, scoring one, and advancing a runner to third, who scored in the following play on a sacrifice ground ball. Clark failed to capitalize again in the inning, though those two runs were enough to propel the Crusaders over the Blue Devils.
Westfield’s lone run came in the seventh inning with a single by senior Leah Abrams, but it was not enough in a game where the Blue Devils couldn’t capitalize when they had runners on base.
Sophomore Darby Revock said, “I think that we can work on being able to manufacture runs a lot more. We are getting the hits, we’re just not getting the hits in certain situations when we need them.”
The Crusaders tacked on two more runs at the top of the fourth inning, where they scored on a passed ball and an infield single. Both plays, in which the Blue Devils are usually expected to make.
Senior Kayla Reyes said, “Something we can work on is making sure we make our routine plays in the field. As our coach said today, we made our highlight plays. However, the routine plays have to get made, and we just have to be a little bit cleaner.”
The Blue Devils entered the game focused on producing a stronger offensive performance, which they achieved. “We actually outhit them and put the ball in play a lot more than we did last time,” said head coach Caitlin Cheddar. “Ultimately, we just made a couple too many defensive mistakes to win it, but it was a solid performance.”
Revock agreed, adding, “They found ways to score more, but they didn’t get as many hits as us.”
Even with this loss, the Blue Devils showed clear signs of improvement, especially adding offensive pressure. Moving forward, their focus will be on turning those opportunities into runs. Revock said, “I think that if we just find a way to get runners on, and then find a way to square those runs.”
The Blue Devils will play Governor Livingston on Friday at 4:00 p.m. at home, looking to tighten up some key details and bring renewed energy into the game. “We can play with anybody. We just have to show up,” said Cheddar.
