The Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Softball League celebrates opening night with a triple-header on Tuesday at Veterans Park in Vineyard Haven, but the new season actually began Thursday with the Snaps taking on the Honeys at the West Tisbury School and the Creamers meeting the Shady Ladies on Field B at Veterans Park.
Snaps vs. Honeys was a seesaw affair from the outset. Crystal Roy settled it with a walk-off single to left-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Snaps a 15-14 win.
The Honeys, down 11-4 after three innings, surged ahead with five runs in the fourth, four in the fifth, and another in the sixth, to lead 14-11. Sarah Wennes put the exclamation point in the rally by launching a three-run homer to deep left with two out in the bottom of the fifth.
The Snaps fought back to tie the game in the sixth. Kelly Sullivan hit a single, scoring Crystal Roy, and Lauren Goethals followed with a two-RBI double, batting in Kristen Leigh Conklin and Sullivan.
In addition to her four hits on the night, Ms. Sullivan flashed some glove in the top of the seventh, chasing down a ball in left field with a web-gem catch for the first out in what would be a scoreless Honeys inning.
Kristen Leigh Conklin finished with four hits, and Jackie Millard had three. Chrissy McCarthy had two hits, including a big three-run double to clear the bases in a six-run Snaps second inning. Lauren Goethals and Kurstin Moore had two hits apiece, while Sue Stephenson and Dylan Spencer Kenney each singled once.
For the Honeys, Megan Buchanan and Emily DeBettencourt stroked four hits; Micheli Lynn and Kendall Robinson had three; Sarah Wennes, Amy Maciel, and Maddie Cornell, two each; and Elissa DeCosta, Maggie Riseborough, Lizzie Reid, and Nicole Gazaille chipped in one.
Over at Veterans Park, the Creamers powered past the Shady Ladies, 10-1.
Becca Goreham and Brae Ferguson each tripled, and Creamers pitcher Lindsay Ruzzo kept the Shadies’ bats quiet throughout.
Tuesday night at 6:15 pm, the Creamers meet the Snaps on Veterans Park Field A, while the Honeys play the three-time defending league champion Mama’s Girls on Field B. The Shady Ladies and Rug Sox will close out the evening, under the lights on Field A, beginning at 7:30 pm.
