SOUTH YARMOUTH – Since 1987, Dennis-Yarmouth’s Mike Bonasia has invested more into a school system and a softball program than most people invest into anything and for any reason.
Dennis-Yarmouth slugger Patty Newhard rapped a basehit in her final career at-bat Sunday afternoon, but the Dolphins were eliminated from postseason play by Middleboro.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
The end result this season was a school record 19-3 softball campaign, highlighted by the second Atlantic Coast League championship title since Bonasia took the Dolphin helm but today marked the end of the road for the stoic Station Avenue girls.
Eighth-seeded Middleboro (16-6) defeated the host Dolphins, 12-4, Sunday afternoon and eliminated them from the MIAA Division 2 South Sectionals quarterfinals. Middleboro will face #5 seed Bellingham (17-4) on Wednesday at Taunton High at 5:00 pm in the semifinals.
After the loss, Bonasia could do nothing but praise his talented Green & White.
“I said let’s face it, we were 19 and 3. We had a great season. Middleboro was for real and they just outhit is,” Bonasia said. “We didn’t do that, like we normally do, but this season was a credit to my seniors.”
Senior co-captains Patty Newhard and Maggie Johnson were critical cogs in the Dolphin machine this season, as evidenced by the team’s remarkable 9-0 run to start the season, followed by another 9-0 run before splitting a doubleheader with Pembroke on the last day of the regular season.
“They made it easy for me this season,” Bonasia said of his diehard leaders.
Middleboro wasted little time Sunday afternoon attacking the superlative pitching of sophomore ace Sammi Feinstein with four hits sandwiched around a walk for a 3-0 lead after the top of the first and it would not be until the third inning that the Dolphins got on the scoreboard.
Dennis-Yarmouth’s usual cleanup hitter and senior co-captain Maggie Johnson sustained a hamstring injury against Fontbonne Academy but could not play in today’s loss to Middleboro – she received nothing but praise from her head coach nevertheless.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Down 3-0, Dennis-Yarmouth got a leadoff single from Madison Medeiros, followed by an RBI-triple from sophomore Grace Bent and then Bent came home on a Taylor Conley (2-4, RBI) groundout to make it 3-2, but Middleboro did not sit back and wait for any more Dolphin damage.
The Sachems staged a four-run rally in the top of the fourth inning on five hits for a 7-2 lead and that’s when the possibility of their season ending began becoming more of a reality for the resilient Green & White.
Yes, the Dolphins added one in the fifth to make it 7-3, but another four-run rally by the Sachems in the top of the sixth solidified the visitors’ prowess at the plate as they rapped out another six hits in that frame for an 11-3 advantage.
Both teams swapped a run in the seventh inning but for Dennis-Yarmouth it proved to be not nearly enough. Ali Plucinski, Meghan Coyle, Hailey Miller and Abby Higgins each added hits for the Dolphins.
Middleboro senior shortstop Hannah Johnson, heading to Merrimack to continue her softball career, went 5-5 from the leadoff spot or the Sachems. Teammate Lexi Pereira went 4-5 with four RBI.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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