The Marblehead softball team swung to success this season – to say the least. From 20-plus wins to a Final 4 bid in the Division 2 state tournament, you could say its journey to elimination was, frankly, magical.
The only thing between the Magicians and the state championship was No. 4 Westfield, which escaped with a one-run victory on Tuesday.
And the road to the semifinals wasn’t easy. It all started two weeks before the season when Ila Bumagin informed the team that she tore her ACL and was going to miss the entire spring.
Then, tragedy struck as longtime assistant coach Todd Norman died suddenly the day of the Magicians’ first game.
Marblehead rallied together and clinched the No. 9 seed in the tournament with an 18-4 record.
After dispatching No. 24 Mansfield, 4-1, the Magicians had to become road warriors and take down No. 8 Nashoba and No. 1 Silver Lake.
Mission accomplished.
When asked if the team did anything differently, head coach Johnny Gold admitted his group kept things the same.
“I don’t think we’ve changed a thing, to be perfectly honest with you. We go to practice every day and we know we have a ballgame ahead of us. We just work hard and practice the little things like cut-offs, stealing, and laying down bunts,” Gold said. “We’re just trying to capitalize on things we know we can do better.”
Going to Nashoba and Silver Lake wasn’t easy, but the Magicians – in each game – kept finding ways to win.
“If you can get good defense, good pitching, and timely hits, I think you hope you have a chance at winning any game,” Gold said. “We have kids that are willing to do whatever it takes. They are a very unique group of kids.”
Despite being labeled underdogs in every game after the Round of 32, Gold didn’t look too hard on other teams’ rankings.
“We’re underdogs, but you don’t know anything about these teams. It’s not like they’re in our conference. They have great records, but you don’t know who they’re against and every team we’ve played has been very good,” he said.
During the 4-3 win against top-seeded Silver Lake, Gold did something in the seventh inning that he hadn’t done all year: he allowed his pitcher and catcher to call the final inning.
“I called about 90 percent of the pitches, but the other day down at Silver Lake, going into the seventh inning, I grabbed Tessa (Francis) and catcher Luka (Bornhurst) and asked them what they wanted to do since Silver Lake had the top of the order coming to bat,” Gold said. “They said to me, ‘We just discussed it, we know what we have to do,’ and I told them, ‘Then go do it.’”
“They knew they had to mix it up between throwing a fastball, an occasional curve or screwball, and to really just attack the batters… They had zero fear in their eyes,” Gold said. “It was the first time all year I allowed them to call the game on their own. We just battled for six innings. We knew who their danger hitter was, so we walked them. It could have backfired, but it didn’t. Part of this tournament is luck. I don’t care what anyone else says.”
The gamble paid off as Francis and Bornhurst got out of the inning to send the Magicians to the Final Four.
“It’s almost surreal. It’s not that they surprise me because I know that this team loves to play, I am just surprised by how calm they are. That’s the part that has been amazing to me,” Gold said. “The moments aren’t too big for them. They just get up there and try to do what they can do best.”
Gold credited the Northeastern Conference for getting his team ready for the postseason as the NEC is one of the toughest conferences in the area, according to the head coach.
“When you play teams like Peabody and Beverly, who are two really good teams, it makes you better. Peabody of course has (Abby) Bettencourt on the mound. You’re not going to see pitching that’s better than her,” Gold said. “I’ve seen some really good pitching, don’t get me wrong. You go against Abby and that’s a lesson learned, but the NEC is strong. Danvers was really good this year, too.”
Throughout this season, Gold said he wished his best friend and assistant coach, Norman, was with him coaching, but knew he was watching over the team.
“It’s been an honor to play in his memory. I wish we didn’t have to, but it’s given us a goal. Whatever happens from this point, nobody can ever take away what we did this year,” Gold said. “We have 21 wins. It’s unbelievable.”
Before every first inning, the team remembered Norman by passing around his fungo bat and glove.
“The kids know there’s a purpose here, and we were playing in his memory,” Gold said.
