By Meghan Foley
Hometown Weekly Staff
Last week, the Raiders' softball team took on the Newton South Lions for the second time this season after defeating them 9–6 the previous week. Going into the game, the Raiders had a 7–5 record while the Lions were 6–6. 
The Raiders gave up one run in the first inning and did not respond at bat in the bottom. In the top of the second, freshman and pitcher Maya Lee struck out two batters before senior Riley Spangler made a deep catch for the Lions’ third out. The Raiders were again unable to score in the bottom of the second, and Newton South gained another point after a walk with bases loaded. The third and fourth innings were also scoreless, though the Raiders had a good play when Lee was almost able to catch a line drive hit at her. She grabbed it off the ground and passed it to first base, beating the runner and giving the Lions their third out.
During the bottom of the fifth inning, senior Margaret Redgate and freshman Izzy Yim both hit doubles, with Yim running in Redgate to put Wellesley on the board, down 2–1. An error by a Newton South player gave Yim the opportunity to also score a run while Elizabeth Cournoyer went to first, and she would steal second on the next play. Senior Abby Brown walked, and Lee earned a single, loading the bases; however, the next batter’s hit was caught, and the inning ended with the game now tied 2–2.
During the top of the sixth, junior Sophie Eneyni grabbed the ball after a hit and passed it to Redgate, who was able to tag the runner coming from second out as they tried to reach third base. A pass from Redgate to senior Elizabeth McDonnell at second gave Newton South another out, and their third came from a catch by Lee. However, the Lions had still been able to score two runs during that inning. With Brown now in the circle, Lee played second base, where she picked up a ground ball and passed it to Redgate, who caught it with one foot on the bag as the runner attempted to slide in, giving the Lions their first out of the inning. Brown struck out the next batter, and Redgate tagged out a runner trying to steal second on the next play. The Raiders did get two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to score again and were defeated 4–2.
“We hung in there; the pitching was there,” said Head Coach Emily Hunt. "We had a couple of defensive lapses, but the bats were just too quiet; it was just a little bit too little too late, as they say.”The team’s final three games will all be at home at Lee Field beginning at 4:00: against Millbury Memorial (10–5) on Friday, May 14th; Framingham (1–12) on Monday the 18th; and Natick (4–10) on Wednesday the 20th.
The Raiders’ schedule can be found online at arbiterlive.com.
