The Marblehead girls softball team has had a lot of success this season. Currently, they have a 21-4 record and are in the Final Four in the state tournament. The only thing in its way to the championship game is No. 4 Westfield.
The road to get to the semifinals wasn’t easy, and it all started two weeks before the season started when Ila Bumagin informed the team that she tore her ACL and was going to miss the season.
Then tragedy struck as longtime assistant coach, Todd Norman, suddenly passed away the day of the Magicians first game. Marblehead rallied together and clinched the No. 9 seed in the Division 2 state tournament with an 18-4 record.
After dispatching No. 24 Mansfield 4-1, the Magicians had to become road warriors and take down No. 8 Nashoba and No. 1 Silver Lake.
When asked if the team has done anything different now that they’re in the postseason, head coach Johnny Gold admitted they’ve kept it the same.
“I don’t think we’ve changed a thing to be perfectly honest with you. We go to practice every day and we know we have a ball game ahead of us. We just work hard and practice the little things like cut-offs, stealing, and laying down bunts,” Gold said. “We’re just trying to capitalize on things we know we can do better.”
Going to Nashoba and Silver Lake isn’t easy, but the Magicians in each game kept finding a way to win.
“If you can get good defense, good pitching, and timely hits I think you hope you have a chance at winning any game,” Gold said. “We have kids that are willing to do whatever it takes. They are a very unique group of kids.”
Despite being the underdogs in every game after the Round of 32, Gold doesn’t look too hard on the other teams ranking.
“We’re underdogs, but you don’t know anything about these teams. It’s not like they’re in our conference. They have great records, but you don’t know who they’re against and every team we’ve played has been very good,” Gold said.
During their 4-3 win against top-seeded Silver Lake, Gold mentioned he did something in the seventh inning that he hadn’t done all year. He allowed his pitcher and catcher to call the final inning.
“I called about 90% of the pitches, but the other day down at Silver Lake going into the seventh inning, I grabbed Tessa [Francis] and catcher Luka [Bornhurst] and asked them what they wanted to do since Silver Lake had the top of the order coming to bat,” Gold said. “They said to me, ‘We just discussed it, we know what we have to do.’ and I told them ‘Then go do it.’”
“They knew they had to mix it up between throwing a fastball, an occasional curve or screwball and to really just attack the batters… They had zero fear in their eyes,” Gold said. “It was the first time all year I allowed them to call the game on their own. We just battled for six innings, we knew who their danger hitter was so we walked them. It could have backfired but it didn’t. Part of this tournament is luck, I don’t care what anyone else says.”
The gamble paid off as Francis and Bornhurst got out of the inning to send the Magicians to the Final Four.
“It’s almost surreal. It’s not that they surprise me because I know that this team loves to play, I just am surprised by how calm they are. That’s the part that has been amazing to me,” Gold said. “The moments aren’t too big for them. They just get up there and try to do what they can best.”
Gold credited the Northeastern Conference for getting the team ready for the postseason as the NEC is one of the toughest conferences in the area.
“When you play teams like Peabody and Beverly who are two really good teams it makes you better. Peabody of course has [Abby] Bettencourt on the mound. You’re not going to see pitching that’s better than her,” Gold said. “I’ve seen some really good pitching, don’t get me wrong. You go against Abby and that’s a lesson learned. But the NEC is strong, Danvers was really good this year too.”
Now the Magicians are one game away from the state final. Throughout this season, Gold said he wished his best friend and assistant coach Norman was with him coaching, but admitted he knows he’s watching over the team.
“It’s been an honor to play in his memory. I wish we didn’t have to, but it’s given us a goal. Whatever happens from this point, nobody can ever take away what we did this year,” Gold said. “We have 21 wins. It’s unbelievable.”
Before the first inning, the team remembers Norman by passing his Fungo bat followed by his glove.
“The kids know there’s a purpose here, and we’re playing in his memory,” Gold said.
On Tuesday, No. 9 Marblehead has a chance to advance to the state championship when they take on No. 4 Westfield at Worcester State University at 3 p.m.
