EVERETT — Every team goes into a season with a conference title on the top of its list of goals. The Classical softball team checked that goal off its list Saturday, clinching a share of the Northeastern Conference South crown with a 5-0 win over Everett at Glendale Park.
“This one, I wanted it so bad for the seniors and for everybody,” Classical coach Erika Richard said. “Those seniors have given me everything they have for four years. They deserve this. We wanted this win. We were hungry and we were loud. We got it going, from the first pitch to the very last out. That showed how much these kids wanted it.”
A handful of players came through for the Rams including Kiara Edmonds (2-for-3, two runs) who laced a triple to get a rally started in the second inning and made a diving catch in left field to end the game.
“Kiara was due,” Richard said. “She was frustrated last game. She hit the ball hard but couldn’t get that hit. She came here and she knew it was about getting done whatever we had to do to get that win (Saturday). Everybody got the bunts down. Whenever we made a mistake we made up for it and got the next one. It was just such a fun win.”
Rebecca Walker (1-for-3) drove in a pair of runs while Ciara Collins (1-for-3) had one RBI and one run scored.
Brooke Warren (1-for-3, RBI) was dominant in the circle for seven innings, allowing just five hits and striking out five.
“This is our fourth game in four days,” Richard said. “We knew this game was the one that it was going to come down to hopefully. You couldn’t tell. (Brooke) dominated. She came at them and she mixed it up. She knew how much this meant to everybody and she made sure we had the chance to win it. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Edmonds got the Rams started in the second inning after lacing her leadoff triple. Maddie Dana reached on an infield single before Collins plated Edmonds on a bunt single. An errant throw later in the play scored another run to put the Rams ahead 2-0. Warren helped her own cause later in the inning with a RBI single to stretch the lead to 3-0.
The Rams offense didn’t manage a hit again until the sixth inning. Amanda Wilkins, Kayla Morrill and Edmonds all singled to load the bases with nobody out. After a fielder’s choice, Walker laced a two-run single to add some key insurance runs and give the Rams a 5-0 lead.
That was all the support Warren needed through her last two innings. The Rams’ defense was there to back her up with three straight putouts in the seventh, including Edmonds’ diving grab to seal the win.
With the regular season coming to a close, the Rams (15-5) now wait for state tournament seeding. Richard was happy to see Classical head into the postseason carrying some momentum after the dominant win.
“You can’t ask for more momentum than that,” Richard said. “We say every day that we can beat anybody if we show up and play like we can play. You never know what can happen. Brooke is going to pitch and keep us in games and we have to win as a team. We’ve been doing that all year and that’s a credit to what we accomplished (Saturday).”
The MIAA will release the softball state tournament pairings Tuesday.