The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Softball team faced Sturgis Charter School East last week in a high-scoring clash. Despite falling to a final score of 21-14, the Vineyarders showed tenacity, scoring more than 10 runs later in the game before falling just short of a complete comeback in the last inning.
“Historically, one bad inning and we give up, but yesterday we didn’t give up. They went head to head and worked it out,” head coach Tiffany McCarty said. “There was a bit of a culture change. People trust one another and it’s a lot more of a team environment than everyone just playing for themselves.”
The loss puts the softball team at 2 and 12 for the year.
Sturgis came out hard for an early lead on Tuesday with some strong at bats in the first inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Vineyard girls looked to respond, battling at the plate, before ultimately a Vineyard runner was picked off on their way to third to close the inning and put the Island team back in the field with zero runs.
Sturgis continued to plate runners in the second, including a home run that cracked off the roof of a car in the parking lot. But the Vineyard’s pitcher, junior Kylee Brasefield, answered the challenge and pounded the strike zone with heaters to close out the inning.
Vineyard bats came alive in the second, getting their first run home and igniting hope for a come-back. But after a Vineyard pitching change, Sturgis roped another home run onto another car roof.
In the seventh inning, the Vineyard rallied again, getting two batters on base before Junior Rose Levesque (No.18), turned a single into a home run due to Sturgis errors. The Vineyard continued to pile runs on, narrowing the gap to 17-14 by the end of the sixth, but a three-run homer by Sturgis in the final frame sealed the 21-14 finale.
Despite the tough loss, McCarty praised the Vineyard team’s resilience.
“We are seeing some really competitive teams and we are holding our own considering some of our kids have been playing less than two years but they are really coming together and working hard and it shows,” McCarty said after the game last Tuesday. “We’ve had a tough season, so we establish goals, personal goals and team goals, they go through them and we have conversations about how we are going to meet those goals.“
Standout performances included Nala Pitman in left field, who chased down fly balls with relentless hustle; her twin sister Madis Pitman in right, who made big plays and shifted to cover second base when needed, and Delilah Oliver, who was a fearless stonewall at short stop.
The Vineyard softball team’s next game is Friday, May 23 against Muniz Academy on the Martha’s Vineyard High School Softball Diamond
