WELLS — As the regular season winds down, Kevin Fox is looking for ways to challenge his Class B South top-ranked Wells High softball team.

He found one Tuesday.

The Warriors held off fifth-ranked Yarmouth 2-0 with left-hander Anya Chase striking out the final three batters after the Clippers loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning.

Chase was dominant, allowing two hits – both to Andrea St. Pierre – and striking out 11. She didn’t walk a batter.

“This is a great type of game to play at the end of the year. That’s a very solid team there in Yarmouth,” said Fox. “There was definitely a playoff atmosphere here. They wanted to really beat us and we really wanted to beat them.”

The victory lifted Wells to 14-1; Yarmouth lost its second straight to drop to 10-3.

Advertisement

There was a playoff feel to the game. Both sides played strong defense – Yarmouth second baseman Sydney St. Pierre made several outstanding plays on hard-hit grounders – and got exceptional pitching.

Ceanne Lyon of Yarmouth allowed four hits and struck out five.

But the Clippers never got untracked against Chase, who not only mixed all her pitches – fastball, curve and change-up – but changed locations effectively, one pitch inside, the next high, another low.

“She kept us off-balance,” said Yarmouth Coach Amy Ashley. “She’s a great player. She’s gritty.”

Chase gave up a leadoff single to Andrea St. Pierre in the first and didn’t allow another hit until St. Pierre singled leading off the seventh.

“There were a lot of good hitters on that team,” said Wells catcher Sara Ring, who calls all the pitches.

Advertisement

“We came in knowing that we had to throw a lot of different things at them because they’re going to hit the ball. We came in thinking we had to throw the change-ups, get the curve in there, the fastball. It had to be the right combination at the right time.”

Which is what happened for the final three outs in the seventh.

The Clippers loaded the bases when the Warriors committed back-to-back errors after Andrea St. Pierre’s single. Ring called a timeout and gathered the infielders around Chase.

“I told them to take deep breaths,” she said. “We’re better than this. We can do it.”

Chase then bore down with three strikeouts to end the game.

“We kept fighting,” said Ashley. “Proud that we were there at the end.”

Advertisement

Chase had a hand in the scoring as well.

She led off the bottom of the first with a single, then stole second and came around to score on a slow comebacker to Lyon. “She has the green light,” said Fox.

Chase got a good break off second and never hesitated going around third, sliding in to beat the throw home.

It stayed that way until Ring hit a one-out homer way over the left-field fence in the sixth, making it 2-0.

“It felt so right,” said Ring. “When I swung and it hit the bat, it felt so nice.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: