By Meghan Foley
Hometown Weekly Staff
Warriors’ softball held their senior night on May 13th, playing the Millis Mohawks for the second time this season. The Warriors (6–9) had previously beaten the Mohawks (3–11) 11–6 a month earlier on April 14th.
Medfield took a strong lead early in the game, scoring three runs in both the first and second innings. However, the Mohawks scored three unanswered runs themselves in the third and three more in the fourth. Although they started the fourth inning off to a rocky start, pitcher and captain Sophie Baker closed things out quickly with two strikeouts in a row a little while after Cate Rodenhi caught a pop fly in the outfield.
In the bottom of the fourth, Captain Lindsay Barrett was the lone runner on base at first with two outs when a Millis player made an error fielding Kendall Larkin’s hit. Barrett ran to second, then third, then into home while the Mohawks tried to recover. Larkin herself ran in on the next hit, but the ball was caught so the Warriors didn’t get the point and instead returned to the field, now leading just 7–6.
The Warriors were back to themselves during the top of the fifth inning and made quick work of the Mohawks, making three outs across four batters. Shortstop Tess Baacke’s pass to fellow captain Ashley Fessenden at first base got them the first, Barrett’s to Fessenden from second gave them their second, and Fessenden grabbed a ground ball and brought it back to first herself for the third.
“I think that the strike zone was consistent, but consistently small, both ways,” explained Head Coach Travis Taliaferro. “Sometimes that can have an effect on one team more than another. I think the zone was the same but it seemed like we weren’t able to hit it as frequently, I felt like it was one of those things, so to battle through that is a really nice thing as well. I felt like [Baker] kind of had to throw a little bit more particular than usual. And again, not saying it wasn’t fair, it was fair both ways, you just have to adjust to the umpire, and that’s what ended up happening. She did a really, really nice job of adjusting to that umpire. … And that’s been a trademark of her. She’s very resilient. Usually if we can just get her to take a break and reset—she’s definitely one who’s mentally tough in those moments and it’s a great thing.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Fessenden hit a single but went on to steal second and third, so when Avery Razza hit a single she was able to run in and make the score 8–6.
During the sixth, a Millis player was running to home and the Warriors passed it to catcher Connie Hillenmeyer, but it didn’t get there in time. Seeing the ball at home, a Mohawk on first took the opportunity to steal second. Hillenmeyer launched the ball to Baacke, covering second. Trying to catch the pass while tagging the Mohawk without blocking the base path, Baacke caught the ball and moved her glove to the player in one motion, spinning on one foot, keeping her glove on the runner. Watching the play closely, the umpire determined it was an out because although the Millis player had gotten to the base in time, her foot had come off the base. Barrett and Fessenden would supply the other two outs, and Medfield was back up at bat.
The bottom of the sixth looked disheartening for the Warriors, who stepped up to the plate with only a one-run lead and faced two outs with their first two batters. With no runners on base and two outs on the board, Larkin went to bat and hit a homerun. Ecstatic, teammates and fans cheered as Larkin rounded the bases. As soon as she had clearly touched the plate and crossed home, teammates waiting for her broke into cheers and hugged her.
Next at bat, Jordan Iovino hit a single, and Cate Rodenhi followed her with a single herself. However, an error by a Millis player gave them a huge opportunity, Rodenhi stealing second while Iovino ran to home. After a Millis timeout, Fessenden was up at bat and crushed the ball, hitting the fence for a double while Rodenhi ran in.
Ahead 11–7, the Warriors finished the top of the seventh inning without giving up another run, and the game ended.
“It was a game of a lot of swings,” said Taliaferro. “It was nice that we put it on ‘em at the end, to score those runs we did; we had a little bit of a plan coming into that last inning about what we wanted to do and the kids executed, and it’s awesome. It’s just awesome when plans work out like you hope they do.”
After the win, the seniors lined up at home plate while Assistant Coach Joe Clifford and a teammate each spoke about the eight seniors individually, telling funny stories, speaking about their admiration for each player, and how much they’re going to miss them next season.
Taliaferro also highlighted how a few of the players returned after not playing for a year or two: “This is the most seniors we’ve ever had at one time. And this group is accentuated by three kids who came back—one is the manager [Eva Thomson], and it’s great, and again a testament not to our team—but to this group, like, who wants to be around this group. How many seniors want to spend time not at the beach or doing what they want to do and instead at the dugout. It’s a really nice testament to those guys. And then two kids who were terrific players who only played a couple years and came back as seniors and made major contributions, including the last inning—[Kendall] Larkin and [Jordan] Iovino, huge. … No, they don’t look like they missed a beat, to be absolutely honest with you.”
On Eva Thomson, who was the team’s manager this season due to a knee injury, Clifford said in his speech: “Coach [Taliaferro] and I were thrilled that she never stopped being a crucial part of our program. … We’d be a lesser program without her around, that’s a fact.”
Clifford also pointed out that Sophie Baker led the team in RBI’s and said Tess Baacke had “the best defensive season from a Warrior I’ve ever seen.”
Clifford ended each speech saying the player was "without question, one of my favorite players ever to coach.”
Congratulations to seniors Tess Baacke, Sophie Baker, Lindsay Barrett, Ashley Fessenden, Jordan Iovino, Kendall Larkin, Cate Rodenhi, and Eva Thomson!
