North Attleboro Blanks Walpole To Reach State Semis

 
 
 WALPOLE, Mass. — The North Attleboro softball squad is heading into uncharted waters after making history on the road.

The sixth-seeded Rocketeers blanked #3 Walpole, 3-0, on the campus of Bird Middle School, securing their spot in the Division 2 Final Four for the first time in program history. North previously reached this point back in 2014 when the state was formatted by sections, then in the Division 1 South Final.

Now in a statewide format, North is just one of four teams left in the state in Division 2 after junior Kelly Colleran tossed a shutout with 12 strikeouts, Mandi Hanewich clubbed four hits and scored two runs, and the Rocketeers handed the Timberwolves just their third loss of the season.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I’m so happy for them, it’s so awesome,” said longtime North Attleboro head coach Bill Wallace, who has been at the helm for 21 seasons over two stints. “They’ve done a great job, they’ve bought in, and it’s really fun. I need Lewis and Clark, I’ve never been this far.

“It’s been such a fun ride because I don’t think in our heart of hearts going into this season and even during the middle of the season, we were wondering if we could win three games in the tournament? But as the season has progressed, they believe they can beat anyone and that’s awesome. That’s all you want.”

The last time the program reached this point in the tournament, they fell behind in the first inning. This time, the Rocketeers got off to a great start with two runs in the top of the first inning, putting the pressure on the hosts.

Hanewich smacked a leadoff single and took second after a bunt from Ally Levine was misplayed in the infield. A wild pitch pushed both runners ahead and Hanewich came home to score as Levine beat the throw to third on an infield grounder from Zoey McDonough for a 1-0 lead just four at-bats into the game.

“That was huge,” Wallace said. “I will tell you…if Mandi Hanewich is not the best leadoff batter in the state, she’s gotta be in the top three. She just gets on and the best thing about her, she did a lot of that with two strikes. She takes that monster cut on the first pitch and then next thing you know, she’s driving it out, and she’s so fast out of the box.”

That set the stage for senior Shaelyn Burns, who took the first pitch she saw into right field for an RBI single and a quick 2-0 lead.

“Our team was super excited on the bench, I could definitely feel our confidence [rise],” Hanewich said. “We were all riled up and we were so excited all week getting ready for today. We just wanted to get on them early and we did. We’ve never done this in program history so this is awesome. It just means a lot for me because it’s my senior year, and I’m super excited.

Colleran allowed a one-out single to Walpole’s Susie McAdams but quickly got two outs, including her first strikeout, to escape without any further harm. And that’s just about how each of the next five innings went as well.

After a leadoff walk in the second and a sac bunt put a runner in scoring position, Colleran got another strikeout and then Burns made a terrific diving play at third on a bunt attempt for the third out. The junior right-handed pitcher struck out the six in the third, and retired the side in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, getting a pair of strikeouts in each of the latter two.

“I’ve said this all along…when you have two kids that can back-to-back and keep pounding the strike zone, throw 12, 14, 16 strikeouts a game…it’s really hard to scout for, it’s really hard to defend,” Wallace said of Colleran and McDonough, who started in North’s win earlier this week. “I’m sure they knew Kelly was going to pitch today, but having the second option can create doubt.”

Walpole freshman pitcher Sharlotte Stazinski settled down after the first, working around a two-out bunt from Hanewich in the second, and getting the Rocketeers in order in back-to-back innings in the third and fourth.

North’s offense once again got a big spark from Hanewich, who orchestrated the insurance run with a one-out single in the top of the fifth. An error moved both runners forward and an infield single from Colleran loaded the bases for the Big Red.

McDonough got under one and sent it deep enough to the outfield to allow the speedy Hanewich to race home to make it 3-0.

Hanewich also had a one-out double in the top of the seventh but was stranded at third.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Walpole finally snapped Colleran’s streak at 15 batters in a row retired as Catie Powderly gave the hosts some life with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, the Timberwolves’ first hit since the first inning. To add to the drama, Norah Broderick followed with another single before Colleran got back-to-back strikeouts. An infield error loaded the bases and brought the winning run to the plate but Colleran induced a grounder to second where Maddie Bailey was able to knock it down, collect the ball, and fire to first for the final out.

“I knew the heart of the order was coming up but I knew if I just trusted what I had been doing all season I could get it done,” Colleran said. “And Maddie made a great play for us sticking with it.”

North Attleboro softball (17-6) will play the winner of #2 Tewksbury and #9 Somerset Berkley in the D2 Semifinals on a date and time to be announced, with a location to be determined. Tewksbury and S-B are set to play on Saturday night at 7:00.