ConVal’s never-say-die spirit was back on display Friday afternoon, as the dogged Cougars barked and bit their way past Sanborn on a walkoff hit by Casey Jordan.
ConVal went up 3-0 early as Jordan and Maxwell Davie walked and scored in the first and second and Connor Buffum singled and scored in the third.
Buffum pitched and set the first eight down in order; he’d go five plus and allow three runs, one earned, as ConVal made a pair of errors in both the fourth and fifth innings to allow the Indians to tie it up.
“We gave up the lead, which is tough, but we were resilient, I’d say,” said head coach Mike Marschok. “It was a great team effort.”
ConVal regained the lead, briefly, in the sixth, on a single by speedster Connor Close, a single by Dylan Pipher, a double by Manny Bowman, a walk from Jack Plourde, a single by Buffum and a double from Duncan Cahoon that put the Cougars up 6-3.
Jordan, pitching in relief, got into trouble in the seventh, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a hit batter. Ben Garfinkle came in to close out the inning, but Sanborn was able to score another three runs and tie the game again. The damage might have been far worse, but Plourde put his tracking skills to good use in left field to track down a moonshot down the line, making a diving catch and tumbling in the mud to end the inning.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Connor Close crushed a bomb to left center; like a gazelle, he’d blaze past first, round second, run through the stop sign and take a headfirst slide into third base, safe, the winning run 90 feet from home.
Jordan poked a single through the middle and sent Close home and into the arms of his teammates, who rushed off the bench to meet him and celebrate ConVal’s walkoff, 7-6 win.
“I’ve probably told you in the past, we don’t win this game last year,” Marschok said. “We’re just more of a mature team where we can eke it out.”
Having lost to Merrimack Valley 10-0 on Wednesday, ConVal is now 8-2 on the year, fourth in Division II behind undefeated John Stark (10-0) and Bow and Hollis-Brookline, both tied at 8-1. ConVal plays at John Stark Monday and at Pelham Wednesday.
If ConVal is relegated to the field at South Meadow School for the rest of the season, the Cougars’ stats are going to suffer. Close’s triple was one of several balls I’ve seen this season at SMS that would have been out of a field that had a fence. Even a temporary fence in the outfield would give ConVal a chance at a home home run. The Cougars have stepped on their field at ConVal once this season, for a practice on Thursday.
Catcher Elias Niemela may be lost for the year. The freshman took a fastball square in the face against Hollis-Brookline that broke bones around his eye. While Niemela sits with his shiner, sophomore Austin Sloan will look to make the most of his playing time.
Sanborn 18, ConVal 4
ConVal took to the softball field against Sanborn Friday afternoon under the gray raincloud that’s seemed to follow them this entire season. The young Cougar team has had five games postponed and didn’t step on a field this spring until the season opener.
“If we’d had a little bit more preseason, outdoors, it would have been helpful,” said head coach Brian Whittemore. “The experience on the field is just not there, for everybody.” ConVal has six freshman on the roster this spring and only three seniors.
Since beating Lebanon for their lone win, ConVal was shut out three straight times and lost six straight, though they’ve shown improvement in the past couple.
“We’re making plays, we’re improving in that way, we’re making contact, we’re not just standing and watching the balls go by us,” Whittemore said. “The last couple weeks has just been about the team coming together, supporting each other.”
The Cougars started two seniors on Friday, Hayley Cheviot at short and Taylor Jarest at third; Jarest’s return from injury was a boon for ConVal, as they were missing Anna Bartsch with illness and Bre Hutchinson, who’d suffered a leg injury that may cost her the remainder of the season.
“That’s been the story of the season,” Whittemore said. “Whatever day it is, there’s something else. We can’t catch a break.”
Sanborn scored seven runs in the first inning, as ConVal’s junior pitcher Jaden Hubbard-Lemay issued two walks, two singles and a double and the Cougars made a pair of errors behind her. Mackenzie Gauthier and Cheviot pitched the remainder of the game; ConVal plated four runs but the game slipped further and further away, and after a five-run fourth and a four-run fifth, Sanborn had an 18-4 mercy rule win.
Junior catcher Shannon Allen walked and was driven in by Cheviot; Bailey Levesque was hit by a pitch and driven in by Mackenzie Anderson, and ConVal’s best string of offense came in the fourth, where Maddie Carpentiere reached on an error, Nisse Anderson singled and then Ashlie Chandler drove them both in with a double.
“I’m really proud of them,” Whittemore said. “They haven’t sunk into doldrums. They’ve actually stepped up, they’re working together.”
ConVal (1-7) has a doubleheader at John Stark (8-2) on Monday and is at Pelham (5-4) Wednesday.