PEABODY — The No. 9 Bishop Fenwick softball team hosted No. 24 Lowell Catholic in Friday’s round of 32 matchup. Through ups and downs, the Crusaders advanced to the next round with a 5-2 victory.
It was more than just the sun providing heat, as Fenwick’s Jaleila “Gigi” Aupont was dialed in for the Crusaders, going the distance on the mound and recording 13 strikeouts.
“It’s almost like we expect it in regard to how she throws and how many she strikes out,” Fenwick coach Brian Seabury said. “It’s just the norm for her.”
It might be the norm for the Crusaders, but not every team can say it has one of the best pitchers in the state. Aupont kept Lowell Catholic guessing with her pitching variety.
“Gigi just does her thing. She pitches the way she’s supposed to,” Seabury said.
Just like how Aupont didn’t waste time striking out batters, the Crusaders quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Mia Mercurio hit an RBI-double to left field, scoring Natasha O’Brien. Then, Aupont drove in Mercurio with a hard line drive to left-center field.
The third run came from Meagan Burkinshaw, who beat out an infield single to score Aupont.
“We’ve been trying to get aggressive at the plate a little bit early. We are looking for a fastball with the first pitch,” Seabury said. “Offensively, we have been struggling a bit, so we tried to change our offensive approach. It worked out.”
Unfortunately for the Crusaders, their bats cooled off and Lowell Catholic kept them scoreless the next four innings.
Lowell Catholic scored one run, but was kept at bay thanks to Aupont and the Crusaders’ defense.
Leading 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, O’Brien stepped up and brought in two runs with a single to give the Crusaders a four-run cushion (5-1).
“She had a nice little seeing-eye single, so we’ll take it,” Seabury said. “It’s good for confidence. Those two runs we added on were huge for us mentally. It took some pressure off of us knowing we didn’t have to be so perfect.”
The Crusaders held on to advance to the next round, and Seabury already knows his team will have to improve if it wants to make a deep run.
“Defensively, we have some things we need to clean up. That stuff will come back to bite us against good teams,” Seabury said. “We also have to clean it up because, if not, that puts more pressure on us when we don’t make a play. We’ll try to clean those up before the next game.
The first game is always the toughest, so it’s good to get it out of the way.”
Seabury was full of praise for Aupont postgame.
“If we can get three or four runs, we have a chance to play against anyone with Gigi on the mound,” Seabury said. “Obviously, if she can keep the number to zero or one, all we need is one or two runs. It’s always low-scoring with the way she’s pitching.”
The No. 9 Crusaders play the winner of No. 8 North Reading and No. 25 Oakmont Regional.
