SWARMERS DOUBLEHEADER in EASTON

On this cold and brisk day the Mansfield Swarm took to the fields of Easton, MA.

Game 1  “ The Battle of Billerica “ – 2 pm
Our captains for this game were Jocelyn and Jackie.    Taylor was our starting pitcher and Brianna was catching.   1^st inning  -  2 strikeouts and a pop-up caught by Ashley ended the inning. 3 up 3 down; lights out for Taylor.

Our bats were on fire today at the battle of Billerica – Jocelyn hit a double, Taylor ran out grounders, Colleen hit a line drive, Kathryn hit a double……then the weather came in…..

Facing wind and downpours with bases loaded and no outs, Taylor was able to get out of the inning with a little help from her team mates - Sadie caught a line drive, Jocelyn caught a pop up, and Taylor helped herself by fielding a ground ball and throwing to 1^st for the final out of the inning. Way to go Swarm !!!…

The rain would not go away – our batting suffered as well as pitching…

Kathryn came in to relieve Taylor in the 4^th inning and had 2 strike-outs, but the rain took a toll on our fielding and Billerica pulled ahead. [The mud was deep today my friends – Sadie lost a shoe in the mud while running between 1^st to  2^nd .  Could she make it to 3^rd without her shoe??????]

Jackie came in to catch in the 5^th and made a great throw to 2^nd to get the runner. The outfielders were “red hot” today – maybe it was jumping jacks to keep warm –  Maddy & Ashley did a great  job backing up the mud-soaked infielders.

Instant replays were needed, umps making girls swing above their heads (he had a very high strike zone in this game) but eventually with Brianna’s gap ball, Ashley's line drive, Jackie’s hit and safe at 1^st , Taylor’s triple, Kaleigh’s home run, and Maddy’s line drive gave us enough runs to give us a come from behind tie. 

Final score: 11 – 11 the Swarm. A hard fought game.


Game 2 – Rematch of the Mansfield Swarm & Easton Bengals – 4pm
It was turning very cold…. The rain finally eased up..  No captains were selected – we needed to get on the field before the day turned “old”.

This commentator would like to apologize due to the outside elements it was getting harder to write with frozen fingers and wet paper. 

The Swarm was up first - Jocelyn walked and stole bases – Taylor grounded out but brought in a RBI – There was a strike out and pop up it was caught -  We were cold, tired but we fought on…

Kathryn was our starting pitcher – a quick 3 up and 3 down with 1 strike out, grounder thrown out at 1^st, and a pop up fly ball to Maddy.

Things started to go our way when Brianna beat out a rip to 3^rd, Ashley’s pop up was dropped - safe at 1^st,  Maddy hit a slammer in the outfield for an RBI,  Jocelyn walked, Taylor hit into a fielder’s choice.  Brianna wasn’t muddy enough, so she dove to catch a ball in foul territory.

Colleen came in to pitch and Jackie came in to catch for the 5^th and 6^th innings. The fielding errors cost us, however, and we watched the Bengals come from behind to beat us for the win. Final score: 5-6 the Bengals/

By-line:   Woodward & Walters