Foxborough Softball Gets Big Win Over Sharon

It might have taken a week and a half to play the game but the Warriors finally managed to play their Senior Day game against the Sharon Eagles. On a beautiful afternoon at the Igo School, the Warriors bunted and squeezed their way to a big 9-0 win over the Eagles.

The Warriors started their bunting attack early in the 1st inning and never looked back. A sacrifice bunt by Chelsea Laracy got Joanna Magnusson home for the game’s opening run.  Another bunt from Brenna Connolly allowed Eva Mazzoni to score and give the Warriors a 2-0 lead after the 1st inning.  Playing a game that included a high amount of bunting; the Warriors looked the most confident bunting as they have all season.

“Small ball is a big thing that we’ve been after all season. Just seeing the ball down told them today when they came in just to be confident make sure that they can get all," said Warriors coach Lauren Cucinotta.

Continuing with the small ball in the bottom of the 2nd inning, Joanna Magnusson bunted in Vicki Solomon to extend the lead to 3. The Warriors who are known to bunt and squeeze, completely overpowered a Sharon team that struggled to managed the small ball.

“We just didn’t adjust obviously,” said an extremely disappointed Eagles Coach Deb Parker after the game.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, the Warriors would blow the game wide open with a 6 run inning.  Chelsea Laracy singled to centerfield to score Ari Zanecchia. She was followed up by a Brenna Connolly bunt that brought Magnusson home. Laracy would make her way home after an Eagles error to 1st allowed Jess Septella to take 2nd.  Septella would score off of a Shannon Suess single that also brought home Erin Pearon who was the courtesy runner for Connolly.

On defense, freshmen pitcher Ari Zanecchia looked confident on the mound in a complete game performance. Giving up only 4 hits and striking out 4, Zanecchia looked calm and showed maturity in a performance that was backed up by a solid defense.

“The most focused I’ve ever seen her (Ari). She was in it every pitch,” said Cucinotta. “Everything was working.  She was moving the ball a lot, keeping them off balance. If runners got on it didn’t bother. She trusted her defense and they did a very good job.”

For Zanecchia, the job was only made easier by the large cushion provided by Foxboro’s offensive power.

“It makes you feel a lot better knowing that you can give up a hit or two and it won’t be a big deal,” said Zanecchia.

At third base, Vicki Solomon made two huge plays to prevent the Eagles from gaining momentum. After grabbing a tough line drive out, Solomon rushed to get an out on the edge of foul territory, adding to her stellar defensive play.

“She (Vicki) did great, she was really solid out there. Big part of that win was her,” said pitcher Ari Zanecchia.

Jess Septella led the Warriors on offense going 2-2 with a run and a RBI. Joanna Magnusson went 1-4 but managed to get 2 runs. Chelsea Laracy went 1-2 with a run and 2 RBIs. In addition to her performance on the mound, Ari Zanecchia went 1-1 at the plate with a run.

Next for the Warriors will be the Hockomock League crossover game against the Attleboro Bombardiers. The crossover game will be the season finale for the Warriors. Game time is set for 3:30 at the Igo School on Thursday May 26th.