The Indians’ Softball  team has a good mix of seasoned veterans and inexperienced players, which has gotten them off to a reputable start. Despite quite a few tough losses, the team’s talent and determination should help them rise to the top as the season progresses. With the help of colleague and team ace Callie MacDonald, here’s a look at how the season has been going.

The team is 7-3, a very good record when you take into account the difficulty of the Patriot League. They have had some really tough losses in extra innings games where, if a couple things had gone their way, they would have been victorious. According to MacDonald, their toughest game was against Middleboro. The game went 10 innings and they eventually fell to the Sachems 5-3. It was tough because after 10 innings in softball, an international tiebreaker is used. The international tiebreaker is when the each inning kicks off with a runner starting on 2nd base for the team batting.  Middleboro is a big rival when it comes to softball so it was a tough loss, but the Indians will get another crack at them.

Hanover has had some big wins as well. According to Callie, a somewhat recent victory over Whitman-Hanson was their best and most memorable win. “The game started off terrible,” she said. “We gave up a lot of hits and errors, leaving us down by seven.  We didn’t let that get into our heads.  We pulled it together and won in the last inning, 11 to 9.” The Indians have shown great resiliency all year and in this game it payed off for them.

A lot of team members are playing some great softball right now. Callie and Lindsay North have been leading the way at the plate, both hitting .670 coming into the week. They have been strongly reinforced by co-captains Steph Spitz, who has been good at the dish and in the field, and Kayla McMahon, who has an incredible three grand slams on the season, including two  in one game. Caroline O’Rourke has been good behind the plate this year, allowing very few past balls while having a quick pop time.

The toughest stretch of the year is behind the Indians and they came out of it in good shape. The team  has a good chance of making it into tournament play.

Photo by William Wassersug @scifisportsguy via Twitter.