The Bishop Fenwick softball team – coming off its game-of-the-year candidate win against St. Mary’s in the Elite 8 – has been eliminated from the Division 3 state tournament.
With their eyes set on something greater – a title game at the campus of UMass Amherst – the No. 9 Crusaders struck first in Wednesday’s semifinal game against No. 4 Norton for a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the fun ended there, as Norton rattled off eight unanswered runs to seal the deal in an 8-1 stomping.
But it wasn’t always. In fact, the Crusaders were in a dogfight – and winning it behind ace Gigi Aupont.
Their lone run came Megan Burkinshaw, who scored on a Gabby Mauiri bunt after getting on base with a double. Just like that, it was 1-0 Fenwick in the fifth.
The following three innings, however, were a different story – one covered in Norton purple.
Norton eclipsed the 20-win mark this season, and for good reason, taking care of business the rest of the way en route to Amherst (against Middleborough, TBD).
With head coach Brian Seabury commanding a black and yellow ship, Fenwick accomplished a lot of things this season. It won 14 games, secured a first-round bye, knocked off archrival St. Mary’s in a thriller for the ages, and reached the semifinals – only to face a two-loss Norton program.
And, now, the offseason begins as next spring should feature a hungry Fenwick team in D3 contention once again.
