GLOUCESTER — The No. 24 Bishop Fenwick softball team traveled north to face No. 8 Gloucester in the Division 3 tournament. Despite winning its first two games (No. 41 Falmouth, No. 9 Hanover), the Crusaders bowed out in the Round of 16 after a 9-0 loss.
You could say the storyline was Gloucester pitcher Abby Noble, who threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
“She was lights out from the first pitch,” said Gloucester Coach Bryan Aiello. “She was on for all seven innings.”
Although Fenwick had seen its fair share of tough competition in the circle, the Crusaders just couldn’t put the ball in play Tuesday evening.
“We’ve been hitting like crazy and we’ve seen some excellent pitchers this season – it’s not anything we haven’t seen before,” said Fenwick Coach Brian Seabury. “I don’t know if it was the spin on the ball or whatever, but we didn’t get it done.”
The Fishermen started strong, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first to put early pressure on Fenwick.
“That’s something we haven’t done all year,” Aiello said. “We’re notoriously slow starters, and this is the first game all year that we got out to a lead and held it and put the game away early.”
After the first inning, the Crusaders settled down and found their rhythm defensively. Despite missing their starting third baseman and shortstop, Lulu Dias and Katy O’Brien made key plays to prevent runs while stepping into new positions.
“We were out of place in two spots, but for the most part, we hung in there and played as good of defense as possible,” Seabury said. “Just giving a good team extra outs isn’t going to work. We didn’t get a chance to put any pressure on them offensively, either.”
It was an all-around game for Gloucester, which added five runs in the fifth to all but seal the win.
“One through nine, we were really solid. We were able to get the bunts down. We hit for power. They executed everything,” Aiello said. “I’m very happy with that performance.”
Fenwick moves on from six seniors: O’Brien, Dias, Val Tate, Natasha O’Brien, Lola Amendolare, and Gabriella Maiuri. Seabury spoke highly of their careers and everything they faced across their four years.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster. They had a good year this year. Obviously, last year, they weren’t able to play in the tournament. The year prior to that, they made it to the Final Four,” Seabury said. “But they adjusted well. I thought, for the most part, in the regular season, we played as well as we could and just tuned it up for the playoffs. I felt we were kind of dangerous with us being seeded No. 24 if we were fully healthy, but when you don’t get hits, you can’t expect to win.”
Gloucester faces the winner of No. 1 Dighton-Rehoboth and No. 16 Medway, who play Thursday.
