King Philip Softball: Bats Come Alive in Win Against Weymouth

For the majority of the season, the pitching of Meg Rico and Meg Carnase has carried the King Philip girls softball team.

On the mound, the duo pitched the Warriors to the Hockomock League Title, posting a 20-0 regular season record.

Since the tournament has started, though, the Warriors bats have come alive — the King Philip offense has banged out 30 hits since the regular season concluded.

In Taunton on Tuesday night, they faced Weymouth (13-10) for the right to play in the MIAA Division 1 South Championship game. The Warriors teed off on Wildcat pitcher Kellianne Munichiello for 11 hits, and added another off freshman Amanda Argiro.

“We’re finally staring to string together some hits, generating offense. We haven’t been one of the highest-scoring teams this year, but now we’re hitting our stride.” KP Coach Jim Leonard said. “When you get to this point of the season, where the games are meaningful and if you don’t win you go home, it’s different, as no one wants to go home just yet.”

For all intents and purposes, this one was over in the first inning. Following a 1-2-3 top of the first where Rico fanned two (she would send 16 back to the bench in all), the Warrior bats got things going and going quickly. Jenn Robillard drew a walk and was sacrificed to second by Alyssa Siegmann before Carnase also walked.

The floodgates opened soon after.

Senior Anna Kelley, who had two big hits a night earlier against Dighton-Rehoboth, blasted a two-run double to right center, scoring Robillard and Carnase. Tori Constantin would chase home Kelley with a single, and Cayleigh McCarthy blasted a 200-foot home run to left-center, giving the Warriors a five-run first inning.

All in all, King Philip would send eight batters to the plate, accounting for five runs on three hits and two walks in the opening inning. KP’s first baseman, who has seen her share of designated players taking her spot at the plate, was jubilant as she circled the base paths after her titantic blast.

“I’ve been working a lot at it, and came into the game taking it one at bat at a time,” McCarthy said. “I’ve been getting in there with a clear head and putting my best swing on the ball. I’ve also been seeing the ball much better lately.”

While five runs would be all that Rico and the Warriors would need, the bats were too hot and continued the onslaught by adding another four runs in the third and six more in the fourth to account for the final.

In the third, another eight batters came to the plate. McCarthy supplied yet another big hit, this time a two-run double, and Kelsey Gray closed out the scoring in the inning with an RBI groundout.

The very next inning, the Warriors batted around plus one while scoring six more times. Kelley, Olivia Godin, Gray and Siegmann all had RBI hits, while Rico delivered a two-run triple over the centerfielder's head.

Although one might think the Warriors were looking toward the Friday night showdown with Norwood (who edged out New Bedford 5-3 in the first game) for the championship, that was the furthest thing from the truth.

“We definitely didn't take this game lightly,” McCarthy said. “We came into the game ready to do whatever we needed to do to win. We’re all really excited, as it’s getting down to the wire and we really want to go all the way again and see what we can do.”