Stone, Martin throw a gem in 14-1 effort
Published May 10, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High softball team picked up a quality 14-1 victory over Belmont on Monday at home at Pine Banks Park. Led by pitcher Jill Stone, who got the win, and a barrage of Melrose batters the team picked up a win as they reach the halfway point of their season.
“It was a great effort overall,” said head coach Kelly O’Neil after the game. “It was a nice pitching effort by Jill and Clara Martin [in relief] and our bats were solid the whole game.”
THE MELROSE High softball team had a big 14-1 win over Belmont this week. (Steve Karampalas photo)
Eight games in, Melrose sits 3-5 on the season with plenty of opportunities to flip their record around with a schedule that pits them against Freedom league opponents in 7 of their next 8 games.
Against the Marauders it was a big game for Sophia George who hit a home run and triple in the game. “She played awesome,” says her coach. “And she made a great catch in right field.”
Melrose took a quick 10-0 lead by the third inning behind big hitting from Grace Solomon and Jill Stone (triple). Rebecca Dumont contributed with some quality bunts and Ella Ruby had strong at-bats and was a forceful presence at third with a number of putouts.
Freshmen Maddie Kozlowski made her debut behind the plate as battery mate to relief pitcher Clara Martin. This is a player O’Neill is excited about. “Maddie played excellently. She was a great pinch runner as well and stole bases for us,” she said.
It was good for Melrose to get back on the winning side of things after a 12-9 loss to Wakefield last week. While Melrose fell to the Warriors, O’Neill was encouraged by their effort. “We had one bad inning but otherwise played well”. A highlight included a home run by Melrose’s Collette Skinner.
Melrose will travel on Friday to Winchester for a 4:00 p.m. game against the Sachems.
