MILLTOWN – Inning by inning, Caravel built up its lead over Saint Mark’s, and the Buccaneers left on May 7 with a 9-2 win over the Spartans in a matchup of two softball teams readying for the postseason.
The Buccaneers, the defending state champions, scored single runs in the first and second innings for the early advantage. They continued with the offense in the third.
Paisley Massey struck out but reached first when the ball was not caught cleanly by the catcher. After Spartans pitcher Gabby Saggione retired the next two batters, a walk and a double steal put runners at second and third. Ava Daniels singled to right, scoring both runners and doubling the lead.
The Buccaneers added three unearned runs in the fifth. There were two outs when a Abigail Russell reached on an error. A walk to Katie Pinand put two runners on base for Daniels, whose double brought Russell home. Two more runs came in on another error. Caravel tacked on two final runs in the seventh.
Meanwhile, after hitting the first Saint Mark’s batter with a pitch, Bucs pitcher Kaley Arrowsmith retired nine straight, with six strikeouts, before Tanai Tippens led off the fourth with a single for the Spartans’ first hit. The Spartans scored both of their runs in the sixth. Tippens singled again and scored on a double down the left-field line by Gracie Riccio. After a line drive out to left, Julia Thomas doubled to left, knocking in Riccio.
Tippens and Riccio each reached base twice. Saint Mark’s (10-4) visits Sussex Central on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Caravel won its 10th consecutive game and is now 15-1. The Buccaneers are in Delmar to meet the Wildcats on May 11 at 4:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, on the next field over, the Saint Mark’s baseball team also hosted Caravel in a thriller between two of the state’s best teams. Garrett Bohn of the Bucs and Graham Clark of Saint Mark’s both went deep in the first inning with two-run home runs. Caravel took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, but Micah Nelson drove a triple to the fence in left-center in the bottom of the inning to score the go-ahead run.
Clark worked into the sixth inning for Saint Mark’s, and Owen Duffy relieved him and got out of a jam to preserve the lead. Caravel had a runner on base in the seventh with one out, but he was picked off, and Caravel’s last batter missed a game-tying home run by about 10 feet. The two pitchers limited Caravel to two hits.
Saint Mark’s won for the sixth time in its last seven games to improve to 10-4. The Spartans host Hodgson on Saturday at 1 p.m. Caravel (11-2) is home against Sussex Academy on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
