Before Tesa Simpson strode to the plate for her final home at bat as a Warrior, her head coach leaned over and gave her one piece of advice: Make it memorable.
And that she did.
With the Warriors already up big in the bottom of the sixth, Simpson smashed a pitch from Profile’s Regan Kulak up and over the left-field wall.
“I knew it was gone as soon as it left the bat,” said an elated Simpson after the playoff game, which the No. 6 Warriors won over No. 11 Profile, 15-4.
With the win, the Warriors advance to the quarterfinals, a matchup at No. 3 Moultonborough set for Saturday at 4 p.m.
Wilton-Lyndeborough started out a little sloppy, allowing the Patriots to strike first, after a trio of first-inning mistakes led to a run. But, senior captain, catcher and valedictorian Ally Schwab gunned down a runner at second to end the inning.
Schwab played up to her usual high standards in her final home game; she’d end another inning by picking off a runner at third base, hit a bases-clearing double and give fellow senior captain Sara Holka a free steal of third by feinting a bunt and drawing the third baseman away from the bag.
Holka started the game and pitched five innings before Lexi Balam closed it out. The solid pitching limited the Profile bats.
“They really didn’t hit the ball hard against us,” said head coach Dennis Claire. “And, we hit the ball pretty good.”
Now the Warriors head to Moultonborough, a tough matchup.
“It should be a good game,” Claire said. “If we can hit the ball, I think we have a chance.”
The Warriors will have to do work against one of the division’s top pitchers, senior Maddy Greene, who’s amassed over 600 strikeouts in her storied career and set the school record in the process.