Spartans Softball Ends Regular Season on a High Note

In what was a “pitcher’s battle the whole game,” the Spartans came out on top over Minnechaug by a score of 4-1.

This sentiment came from the Spartans’ starting pitcher herself, senior captain Sophie Sares, who struck out ten batters in seven innings pitched.

Her opposing pitcher, junior Mackenzie Blair, struckout eleven in her six innings pitched and, contrasting Sares’ seven, only allowed three hits.

Two of those three hits came from junior Anna French. Getting the other hit and an RBI was junior captain Mckenzie Ryan.

This clutch streak of offense came in the sixth inning, in which the Spartans scored three of their four total runs.

The Spartans had a chip on their shoulder as they headed into this game due to the fact that the Falcons handed them one of their four losses earlier in the season.

“To bounce back and beat them this time felt great and helped us have good momentum heading into the postseason,” senior captain Lorraine Cloutier said.

That momentum did carry into the Spartans’ quarterfinal matchup of the Western Mass playoffs against Longmeadow, taking the victory 11-7.

The Spartans, crowned league champions after their win over Easthampton last Monday, look to continue their success in the Western Mass tournament.

“I feel that we have to maintain a good head on all of our shoulders, and not get too ahead of ourselves,” Sares said. “We have to take the Western Mass and State Tournaments game by game, out by out, and inning by inning.”

“My team is very big on energy,” Ryan said. “Energy is 100% one of the biggest things in sports, and to carry that, along with skill and mindset, makes you the athlete that you are and my team will carry every one of those into the postseason.”

Their quarterfinal win over Longmeadow pushed the Spartans’ record to 13-4. A lot has gone into the success of the team throughout the entire season, but what stands out is the leadership from head coach Jenna Webb’s three captains.

“Being a captain as a junior is definitely a privilege,” Ryan said. “I have definitely stepped up and I plan on stepping up even more for the rest of the season and my senior year.”

“I feel Kenzie, Lorraine and myself do a really good job of trying to keep the team chemistry strong,” Sares said. “On the field, I feel I’m extremely vocal as a pitcher. When things also get rough, and I know we can do better, I really believe in tough love. The team knows Kenzie, Lorraine and I are serious, and that’s when we start to see changes in the way we’re playing. You can’t move on from mistakes if you don’t own them first.”

“I think that for me, as a captain, I have stepped up in leading by example,” Cloutier said. “I make sure that I’m doing the right thing and putting in everything. I have to show the underclassmen that is how they should be coming to every practice and every game.”

The Spartans are set to face Agawam in the semifinal round of the Western Mass tournament tomorrow afternoon.