BEVERLY — Marblehead’s softball team couldn’t spoil Malden Catholic’s senior day, losing to the Lancers 6-2 at Endicott College in Beverly. That said, good teams find positives in a negative.
The injury-riddled Magicians made the Lancers work for every run and hit.
“Our right fielder is catching, our shortstop is on the IR,” Marblehead coach Johnny Gold said. “Every team has injuries. We just have a long list.”
While on the topic of good teams, they also don’t find excuses. Gold didn’t blame injuries entirely, but rather, Marblehead’s inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
“We left eight runners on base and that killed us,” Gold said. “We didn’t deliver when we needed to deliver. Plain and simple.”
The Lancers got out to an early lead after back-to-back triples and a single brought in two first-inning runs. Across the next two innings, the Lancers doubled their lead with extra-base hits to take a 4-0 lead heading to the fifth.
“They’re a very good hitting team,” Gold said. “I think we did OK defensively. Our infield did great today. Tessa Andriano at third and Luka Bornhorst, who is usually our catcher, at shortstop, did well. I can’t complain.”
The Magicians got on the board in the fourth inning when Sophia Hallisey brought in a run with a single to center field to make it 4-1.
They didn’t stop there. Marblehead scored its second run when Anna Bobowski beat a throw to first for an infield single in the sixth, allowing a base runner to score from second.
“We did OK and had our opportunities,” Gold said.
Gold credited Ruby Calienes postgame, who pitched a complete game with three strikeouts – even though pitcher isn’t her main position.
“Like every game, Ruby guts it out,” Gold said. “For someone who doesn’t practice a lot of pitching, she guts it out. She’s hitting over .400 this year. I thought she was great. She will be pissed about it, but that’s the type of competitor she is.”
With just two games remaining, the Magicians may still have a chance for a postseason berth, and if Marblehead keeps its competitive nature intact, you never know.
“This group is great to coach,” Gold said. “They absorb and try like hell. There’s no quit in them. There’s a lot of grit in this team.”
And between its youth and enthusiasm, Gold knows the future is bright.
“We’re a very young team and I hope they learn from this,” Gold said. “We are only losing one senior so we have a big haul coming back. The future looks good.”
The Magicians’ next game is Thursday when they travel to Medford with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m.