ATHOL — Qualifying for the MIAA-sanctioned playoff tournament is nothing new for the Athol varsity softball team. The team has now qualified for the tournament in four out of the past five years, missing the tournament in 2016.
So when the Red Raiders embark on their 2018 playoff run against Palmer High School at 4 p.m. in Athol, the atmosphere should be no surprise for Athol. The team has won at least one playoff game — but nothing more — in each of the last three postseason appearances.
Last season, the Red Raiders defeated Hoosac Valley, 12-0, in the opening round of the playoffs. They defeated Lee High School, 14-2, in 2015 and and Ware, 10-2, in 2014.
“We need to come ready to play and be confident up at the plate,” said Athol coach Sharon Chauvette in an email. “We’ve gotten into hitting slumps in the past and if we can hit the ball, I think we will be OK.”
Over the course of the regular season, the Red Raiders maintained a healthy slash line of .285/.424/.401 and produced 8.5 runs and 4.9 walks per game.
But the Red Raiders have also gotten into their fair share of hitting slumps, like Chauvette mentioned. The team was no-hit against Greenfield High School back on May 23 and have games on its resume such as the one back on April 12 against Ludlow where the Red Raiders generated only three hits as well as a one-hit performance against Turners Falls.
That performance against Turners Falls was the first of back-to-back games where the Red Raiders generated only one run in each game, albeit facing tough competition in the Thunder and the Frontier Red Hawks.
To make things even more complicated, Thursday will mark the first time the Red Raiders swung a bat against an opponent in 13 days.
“We’ve been off since May 25 after playing five games in five days so we’ve really been working on our hitting at practices,” said Chauvette.
The Panthers have some big bats of their own in Sierra Cavanaugh, Ashelyn Granger and Jillian Lombardi. The trio has produced 28 extra base hits, including 11 triples and four home runs. Cavanaugh is also a power pitcher and will likely take the mound against the Red Raiders. In 108 innings of work during the regular season, she struck out 183 batters with a 1.67 WHIP.
Athol will counter with eighth grader Lindsey Leblanc. Although most could have predicted Leblanc succeeding after watching her pitch at other various levels of play, it would have been hard to predict the amount of success she has had on the mound this season. In 95 1/3 innings this season, Leblanc maintained a 3.74 ERA with a 6-3 record, 5.5 K/9, 2.3 walks/9 and a 1.46 WHIP. The Red Raiders seem pretty safe with Leblanc on the mound, but if anything were to happen, the Red Raiders will go to Haley Bigwood, who has struck out 53 batters in 63 innings this season along with six wins.
And if one is looking for specifics in the hitting department for the Red Raiders, Bigwood provides one of the premiere bats in the Franklin league with a slash line of .464/.565/.899 to go along with six home runs, eight doubles and two triples. Bigwood has also produced 25 runs and 30 RBIs.
The Red Raiders will have ample power and pitching, now the team just has to utilize those strengths.