Twinfield-Cabot-Danville’s Kendall Hale, a ninth grader at Danville, aims for the ball during play on Burt Hodgdon Field at Twinfield April 25. Randolph edged by the home team 21-18.
by Ken Brown
MARSHFIELD – The Twinfield-Cabot softball team braved the rain and cold weather last week to finally get their 2023 season underway, narrowly dropping their opener to Randolph, before easily handling Northfield on the road, and wrapping up with a lopsided loss to Division IV powerhouse Blue Mountain.
The Lady Trojans rallied for five runs in the seventh inning, but came up just short in their season opener last Tuesday, falling to Randolph 21-18 at home. Aydyn Corbett powered the Twinfield-Cabot offense with four hits and four runs scored and Maddi Duke added a triple to start off the bottom of the fifth inning. Kendall Hale took the loss in the circle for the Lady Trojans, striking out five in five innings of work. Danville’s Ella Marshia finished up for the home team, striking out three Galloping Ghosts in the final two innings. Randolph improved to 1-2 on the season with the win.
“Unfortunately we lost our opener to Randolph, but it was a very competitive game and the girls fought through the rain and the cold for a great rally in the seventh inning,” said head co-coach Christin Martin.
Hale excelled in the circle and at the plate on Thursday to lead the Lady Trojans to a dominant 20-6 road win over Northfield. She earned the win, striking out four Lady Marauders on the day, and also belted four doubles to help her own cause. Corbett continued to swing a hot bat, adding two more hits in the win. Northfield was coming off an impressive 25-11 win over Randolph as the loss dropped them to 1-2 on the season.
“Kendall had a great all-around game for us. She did a good job throwing strikes and also made three other important outs for us defensively in the field. Both Kendall’s and Aydyn’s bats were hot and Aleacya Moshinskie and Danville’s Austin Roos did an amazing job at the catcher position for us. They each had some great stops back there on passed balls that helped us hold down any big rallies by Northfield,” said Martin.
Twinfield-Cabot-Danville’s Maddi Duke (center), a Twinfield senior, waits for the ball as Ava Scott-Lucas (left) of Randolph reaches third base during action Tuesday at Twinfield. At right is base umpire Mike Clark. Randolph won 21-18.
Blue Mountain has been a wrecking crew within the division this season and continued their hot start over the weekend with a 27-0 home win over the Lady Trojans. Kyra Nelson twirled five innings of no-hit ball for the Lady Bucks, striking out 13 on the day. Kaylee Hamlet belted a pair of doubles and drove in five runs to power a balanced offensive attack. Nelson also scored five runs and teammate Lauren Joy added three RBI’s in the win. Blue Mountain drew 23 walks on the day and broke the game open with an 18 run second inning. Maddi Duke was a bright spot for Twinfield-Cabot, striking out the side to end the fifth inning. Blue Mountain has advanced to the Final Four the last two seasons and look poised to contend within the division once again, outscoring their opponents 60-4 in their last three wins.
“Blue Mountain was a rough game for us. They got a super big lead early on and we just couldn’t get our bats going. Kimmie DeBona did a good job getting on base for us, but we just didn’t string anything together to get her in. We made some solid contact, but it was right at fielders, instead of in the gaps,” said Martin.
The Lady Trojans tackle another busy week as they traveled to Richford on Tuesday and stay on the road for a trip to Craftsbury Academy on Thursday. They will host Richford at Danville High School on Saturday afternoon to complete the home and home with the Rockets and the junior varsity team will travel to St. Johnsbury Academy that same day. Five Danville players are on the Twinfield-Cabot roster this spring.
