Titans top Pilgrim for first victory

Posted 4/15/14

After two rough games and a washed-out week, the Toll Gate softball team was waiting for a little success and a little sun.

The Titans got both on Saturday morning.

On the best day of the …

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Titans top Pilgrim for first victory

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After two rough games and a washed-out week, the Toll Gate softball team was waiting for a little success and a little sun.

The Titans got both on Saturday morning.

On the best day of the spring so far, Toll Gate used a six-run fifth inning to take a non-league game from Pilgrim by a 7-3 score for its first victory of the season.

The Titans improved to 1-2 overall.

“It was nice to get a win,” said Toll Gate head coach Shana Willis. “We’ve been improving since the first week. We had a rough first game. The second game, we played much better, still suffered a loss, but it was definitely a much better game defensively. We still struggled with the bats, but today the bats started to come around. We’re starting to put the pieces together.”

The Patriots fell to 3-2 overall. They’re off to a solid start in league play, with two wins in their first three games, but they’ve hit some rough patches with their defense. Head coach Bill Aquilante left Saturday’s match-up with a list of positives, but the one big inning was too much.

“You stay away from the big inning, you’re going to have a good chance to win the game,” Aquilante said. “They got us with the six runs today.”

The Titans had been waiting a while for that inning.

In their first game of the season, on April 2, they struck out 16 times against Coventry pitcher Erica Jewitt and made five errors in a 13-0 loss. Two days later, they cleaned up the defense but managed just one hit off Cumberland pitcher Juliet Nelson in a 2-0 loss.

Last week, their only scheduled game was postponed, giving them more than a week between games – and a lot of time to pine for some offense.

“We worked on a lot of hitting, especially yesterday at practice,” Willis said. “I think that allowed them to gain some confidence.”

The Titans didn’t break out right away as Pilgrim pitcher Morgan Almon worked out of trouble in each of the first three innings to keep it a scoreless game.

In the fourth, the Titans finally touched home. Kelly Berard reached on an error to start the frame and Arizona Hunt-Kirkland doubled her home to put the Titans ahead 1-0.

It was their first run and their first lead of the season.

And the Titans didn’t stop there.

In the top of the fifth, they sent nine batters to the plate, using four walks and three timely hits to bust the game open. Jenna Beauchamp and Karley Mallette did much of the damage with a triple each, while Jamie Hopgood added a single.

“We were able to string a couple of big hits together,” Willis said. “It was nice to see. A lot of girls on this team can hit with power and it was good to see them show it today.”

Pilgrim had a breakout of its own an inning later, but it wasn’t big enough for a comeback. After getting just two hits off starter Courtney Marsh, they touched up Hunt-Kirkland for three runs in the sixth. Madison Balutowski started the inning with her third hit of the day, Loren Saucier singled and Caitlin Blanchard drove both of them home with a base hit. Blanchard came around on a hit by Tayla Ferreira.

“We didn’t do much early,” Aquilante said. “We took too many third strikes. We got it going a little bit in the sixth, so that was good. The hitting is going to come around.”

Pilgrim freshman Gabby Scalzo – making her first varsity appearance – pitched scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh innings, keeping her team within striking distance. But Hunt-Kirkland retired the side in order in the seventh, striking out the last two batters she faced to seal the victory for the Titans.

Toll Gate will return to action today when it hosts Westerly at 3:45 p.m. The Titans are hoping Saturday’s success carries over.

“Our goal for the season is .500, so we’ve got a little way to get back to that pace,” Willis said. “Then we’ll try to make the playoffs and go from there.”

Pilgrim was set to host Exeter/West Greenwich on Monday, with results unavailable at press time.

“We’re off to a good start – we’re 2-1 in league play,” Aquilante said. “That’s where we were last year but we’re not at the point we were last year, in terms of continuity and defense. We’ve got to clean that up.”

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