The concept of home field doesn’t mean much to the Bishop Brady softball team.
The Giants and their heavy hitting lineup would rather visit a field with a fence than play at home with the endless outfield found at Rollins Park. That hasn’t stopped Brady from going undefeated in all six of their games this season, the latest a 9-5 win over Winnisquam on Tuesday.
When Brady (9-1) came to bat in the first inning, the Bears (6-5) dropped back deep in the outfield. The first three hitters for Brady went down, one on strikes and two on deep flies to center and right.
“They’re one of the stronger hitting teams in the division and there’s no fence, so you’ve got to play deep … a line drive that gets to the gap it’s going to roll forever,” Winnisquam Coach Kevin Dame said.
The strategy was working for the Bears, who scored first in the opening frame, but Brady showed it can do more with its bats than slug the ball deep.
Abby Santis reached on a single in the second inning and Maddy Rines put a ball in play that moved Santis to third. With two outs on the board, Cait Mallahan reached on an error that was enough for Santis to cross the plate and tie the game.
Brady pitcher Lily Rivera preserved the knotted score in the third. When the Giants came back to the batter’s box, the deep-ball strategy went back to work.
With Emily Santis on first, Aniecia Vargas stroked the first pitch she saw straight to center field and over the heads of the Winnisquam defense. Santis scored easily while Vargas beat feet around the diamond and crossed the plate, thanks in part to an overthrown ball into the infield.
“She pitched me right down the middle and I just ripped that thing,” said Vargas, now with four home runs. “It was a goner by then. … It was nice and smooth and just hit the meat of the bat.”
Vargas ripped a homer when Brady traveled to play Winnisquam on the road, a 23-8 win for the Giants. That home run didn’t require the same hustle around the bags that this one did. At Winnisquam, Vargas launched the ball over the fence in right.
“Playing here has its advantages and disadvantages,” Brady Coach Freddy Rivera said of their home field. “Not having a fence is certainly a disadvantage for us right now with the power lineup that we have.”
Coach Rivera added: “We played a little of small ball, which is another game plan I wanted to get the girls working on … get some base stealing and lets go play for one run. And then, hopefully, the bombs start to come again.”
Vargas’s homer gave the Giants a 3-1 lead, but Lauren Bolstridge scored after hitting a double to lead off the fourth for Winnisquam, cutting Brady’s lead to one.
The Giants took off in the fifth, scoring five runs with one out on the board. Jamie Cookingham stroked a line drive down the left side for a RBI triple. Abby Santis, Rines and Mallahan hit a single, double and triple, respectively, to drive in three more runs, while Gwen Tupman closed the rally with a groundout to second that gave Mallahan enough time to score from third.
The Giants added their ninth run in the sixth when Rivera scored on a wild pitch.
Despite a seven-run deficit, Winnisquam would not go quietly. With a runner on base and two outs, the Bears had their backs against the wall. But three consecutive singles from Hannah Max, Cailey Clogston and Emily Decormier drove in two runs, bringing the Bears within five.
Rivera, chasing another complete game, walked the next two batters to load the bases and allowed a run, bringing Brady’s lead to four.
“We were just missing, bottom line,” Coach Rivera said. “There were pitches that were right there that we’re just missing. Some were just a little to low, some were just a little bit too inside. But good thing we had a nice lead and we got through it. It was just some of the pitches were just off the plate and it wasn’t by much.”
Bolstridge came to the plate as the potential tying run with two outs. She worked a 1-2 count before hitting straight to Vargas at third, who reacted quickly and snagged the ball for the final out.
“I just love that they didn’t quit,” Dame said of his squad. “They battled to the last pitch. That’s the sign of a good team.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)