As six seniors lined up to commemorate their softball careers at WHS, the Blue Devils strutted confidently onto the field aiming to dominate David Brearley for the second time this season and improve their record to 7-10. However, the Blue Devils struggled to gain momentum, and the much-needed adrenaline rush from Senior Day finally kicked in during the fifth inning, carrying the Blue Devils to a 17-9 victory.
David Brearley got an early start as it captured opportunities off of Westfield errors, scoring 2 runs in the first inning. As the game progressed, Westfield managed to answer with its first run and clutch defensive plays from catcher Annie Reilly who sparked fire for the team. Even with this new flame burning, the Bears extended their lead in the third inning, putting the Blue Devils behind 4-1.
Although the first few innings seemed shaky for a Senior Day performance, junior Catherine Heflin generated a new wave of energy as she hit a line drive into center field. This double led to 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth, closing the gap to 4-3.
After three easy outs for the Blue Devils, Gianna Puglisi cracked a single down the middle on the first pitch of the fifth inning and advanced to second on the throw. This was just the beginning. Over the course of the inning there were 6 RBIs for the Blue Devils and 8 runs scored making the score 11-4. This inning opened up the game, and head coach Caitlin Cheddar thought the new energy helped the Blue Devils adjust their game: “Once we made adjustments our at-bats came alive and our defense improved.”
Following the crusade of doubles and RBIs the Blue Devils looked unstoppable with senior Avery Pierce adding strikeouts into the mix. Westfield was able to maintain its lead throughout the sixth, not letting a few more runs from the Bears affect its play.
The Bears answered with a home run, so Erin Doherty stepped up to the plate and added a 2-run homer to the Westfield lead, putting the Blue Devils up 15-9 after the sixth inning.
“It feels great to get another home run where everyone on the team contributed to my success,” Doherty said. “I feel very lucky to be a part of it.”
After the homer the Blue Devils added two more with RBIs from both Quinlan Doherty and Sophia Narciso. As the game came to an end with Westfield up by 8 runs, senior Rachel Witzel reflected on her past years as a WHS softball player celebrating her Senior Day amongst her teammates, friends and family.
“It has always been such a special game and now that I am a senior I really do feel all the love and it’s so sentimental,” Witzel said. “I am going to miss it so much next year.”
With only a few games left in the season, Cheddar looks to “make adjustments a little bit quicker” in Westfield’s next game. The Blue Devils will face Jonathan Dayton for the first time this season, away on May 9, searching to add another win before the season comes to a close.
