SOUTH HADLEY — With a majority of the team away on a school trip, the Mahar softball team fell 9-8 to South Hadley on a walk-off triple Wednesday. The Senators used four sophomores, three freshmen and three eighth-graders.
“You can’t complain about how the girls are playing. They’re fighting,” Mahar coach Jerry Duguay said.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh and one runner on base, the Tigers (2-3) hit a ball into the gap for a game-winning triple.
The Senators (1-3) scored four runs in the seventh to tie the game at 8-8. The Senators scored one run in both the fourth and fifth innings and two in the sixth.
Down 4-2 with two outs in the fifth, the Senators’ Megan Rich got the Tigers swinging on a ball in the dirt for strike three. The play should have ended the inning, but the ball got past the catcher and the batter reached first. The Tigers then went on to score four runs to take an 8-2 lead.
The Senators had a chance to score in the first, but came up short. With runners on first and second, the Senators came up empty on three tries at the plate.
Rich went 6⅓ innings for the Senators, striking out nine. She also went 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs, one triple and one run. Juliana Herbert produced a home run for the Senators.
Keanna Thompson went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI in her first varsity appearance.
“She was very aggressive, which I’ve been trying to teach her,” said Duguay.
Mackinley Drew also added one walk, while Jazmine Vezina went 1-for-3. It was the first varsity experience for both players. Freshman Hannah Dupont played in her first varsity start at shortstop, as well.
The Senators are off until Tuesday, when they host Pioneer Valley Regional High School.