Things didn’t look great early for Bow softball in its season opener at NHTI on Friday against Oyster River. The Falcons trailed 1-0 after two innings and 2-0 after 4½ before tying the game at 2 in the fifth, allowing a run in the top of the seventh and then walking things off with a two-run fielder’s choice to win the game, 4-3.
In the unseasonably warm 85 degrees with the sun beating down on the field, Bow (1-0) required a jolt of energy at the end, and it was enough to propel the team to a season-opening win.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
It certainly wasn’t a banner day at the plate for the Falcons, who struck out nine times in the first five innings and only put up two runs on the scoreboard during that stretch. But a single up the middle from sophomore Caly Poitras evened the score at 2-2 and breathed some life into Bow’s dugout.
Then in the seventh after falling behind, 3-2, the Falcons rallied once again with the two runs to win the game.
“I think it was promising the last (few) innings, coming out like that and getting a little bit of fire,” said Bow head coach Jen Boyden. “It’s good that we could be behind like that, and they could get fired up, and they could see that it actually wins you some games because that was 100% just an attitude win at the end. Nothing changed. Yeah, it was a different pitcher, but it was the same girls. They just had a mindset shift, and they won a game, so hopefully now they realize that’s what they need through the rest of the season.”
Down 1-2 in the count, the senior right-handed hitter battled, fouling off pitch after pitch after pitch before roping a double to the right-center field gap. After the Bobcats had jumped in front with two outs in the top of the inning, Kiah’s extra-base hit swung momentum back in Bow’s direction.
In the next at bat, junior Ella Roos lined a single to center, and then senior Hannah McGonigle was intentionally walked to load the bases with nobody out. Poitras then hit a ground ball to second; Oyster River tried for the force at second base, but McGonigle was safe. While that play developed, Kiah had already scored to tie the game, and Roos charged home to win it.
But it all started with that first at bat of the inning.
“She’s very fast. Definitely the fastest kid on our team,” Boyden said of Kiah. “Probably one of the fastest kids out there, so a lot of times, she will try to get a bunt down as well and play the small ball. But what really helps us is when she is able to do that, where maybe it doesn’t work, she gets down in a hole, she can still come and surprise everybody and get a double or a triple.”
Bow gave Oyster River several extra outs in the game, committing three errors, though it’s an area Boyden’s confident will correct itself as the season progresses. The Falcons did have the chance to play in four scrimmages before Friday’s opener, but they didn’t have a ton of balls put in play against them.
“Again, if they can learn that the offense provides momentum to itself and then also provides it to the defense, I think they’ll figure it out,” she said.
Boyden’s also well-aware of how things can change over the course of the year. Last season, the Bobcats dominated the Falcons in the regular season before Bow got its revenge in the playoffs.
“If you look at who was on the field those two games, it was a completely different defense,” Boyden said. “So I think we’re good, but we’re still going to play around with stuff.”
Bow’s season rolls on against Merrimack Valley on the road on Monday.