SWAMPSCOTT — The Marblehead softball team was down to its final three outs Wednesday afternoon against Swampscott, but the Magicians pulled it together in the top of the seventh and rallied to take down the Big Blue, 4-2, at Forest Ave. Park. Marblehead plated three runs in the seventh before retiring Swampscott 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
“Swampscott played us really tough, and they’re always a tough team,” said Marblehead coach Johnny Gold. “We got some really big plays on offense and defense, and we were able to pull it together in the final inning to get the win.”
Madi Monahan led the way offensively for Marblehead, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Mercedes Pelletier also went 3-for-4, while Leila Walton went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Frances Paik went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
In the circle, Charlotte Plakans had another solid outing after tossing a no-hitter on Tuesday. Plakans went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts.
Swampscott was led by Chloe Rakauskas, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Katie Watts also went 1-for-3 with one RBI, while Nicolette Fraser went 2-for-3. Sydney Cresta went 1-for-3.
Caleigh Hopkins pitched well for the Big Blue, going seven innings and allowing four runs on 11 hits with one strikeout.
“Marblehead’s a tough team to beat, and we knew coming in that we couldn’t make many mistakes if we wanted to get the win,” said Swampscott coach Gary Moran. “We had them down 2-1 in the seventh inning, but we couldn’t finish it off. Caleigh pitched a great game against one of the best hitting teams in the league, but we just didn’t finish it.”
It was a pitchers’ duel for more than half of the game, with the first run not crossing the plate until the bottom of the fourth inning. Fraser led off the frame with a double to get into scoring position, then Watts stepped in and laced a RBI single into left field to give the Big Blue a 1-0 lead. Swampscott was eventually able to move runners to second and third in the inning, but Plakans escaped without any further damage.
The Magicians responded right away in the top of the fifth. A walk and a throwing error put runners on first and third with no outs for Walton, who dropped down a RBI sacrifice bunt to tie the score at 1-1. Marblehead threatened with more runners in scoring position, but Hopkins got out of the inning with the score still tied.
In the bottom of the sixth, it looked like Swampscott may have struck the winning blow. With two outs and the bases empty, Rakauskas stepped in and launched a solo home run over the left-field fence to give the Big Blue a 2-1 lead.
But it didn’t last. In the top of the seventh, Marblehead quickly moved runners to first and third. Paik stepped in and tied the game at 2-2 with a RBI single, once again putting runners on first and third. The Magicians then took the lead after a perfectly executed double steal before Monahan capped off the scoring with a RBI single to make it 4-2 Magicians.
Plakans set down the Big Blue in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the win for Marblehead.
Next up for Swampscott (0-4) is Peabody on Monday (4).
Marblehead (2-1) will take on Peabody Saturday (12).