Unbeaten King Philip hands Bishop Feehan first loss

HS SOFTBALL

First-inning slam sparks 5-1 win

King Philip’s Liv Petrillo hits a grand slam in the first inning during a softball game against Bishop Feehan. PHOTOS BY MATT STONE — BOSTON HERALD

Bishop Feehan’s #14 Bella Silva tags out King Philip’s #8 Annabelle Curran during a softball game.

King Philip’s #3 Liv Petrillo celebrates scoring with #42 Bailey Cederbaum during a softball game against Bishop Feehan.

King Philip’s #3 Liv Petrillo steals second as Bishop Feehan’s #5 Maddie Coupal misses the throw during the third inning of a softball game.

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By Jack Murray

Correspondent

PLAINVILLE >> A grand slam from Olivia Petrillo in the first inning provided all the run support McCoy Walsh needed in King Philip’s 5-1 non-league softball victory over Bishop Feehan.

Both teams entered undefeated and had strong pitchers in the circle. The Patriot’s Day matchup was set to be a big test for both teams and Warriors head coach Kate Fallon said the sting of last season’s loss to the Shamrocks was still in her team’s heads.

“This was a good challenge for us,” Fallon said. “That’s a good team over there. We love good competition.”

After a clean first inning from Walsh the Warriors hitters got to work. A walk, a hit batter and a bunt single from Cheyenne Murray set the table for cleanup hitter Liv Petrillo.

“We make each other more comfortable,” Fallon said. “Cheyenne getting that bunt down and not getting out, Liv knew she had to do something. They pick each other up.”

That’s when Petrillo delivered the grand slam over the left-center wall. She credited some extra work put in pregame with her father as something that kept her feeling confident at the plate.

“I got to the field at 7 a.m. with my dad before he went to work,” Petrillo said. “I felt ready to go.”

Shamrock’s pitcher Mylee Ramer settled from there and only allowed a handful of hits the remainder of the game. The only other Warrior run came in the third inning when Allie Cecere singled in Petrillo.

Unfortunately for Bishop Feehan, Walsh was equally excellent the rest of the game.

“This was a big outing for her,” Fallon said of Walsh. “We’ve really been working with her a lot in the last few weeks on building her strength and confidence and she rose to the occasion today.”

Walsh finished with 17 strikeouts and when the other team did put it in play, her teammates played sound defense.

“It was nice,” Walsh said of her teammates’ defensive play. “It gives me the ability to pitch around the batter and know that my team can back me up when needed.”

The only blemish came in the fifth when Caitlyn Deveney smashed a solo home run to make it 5-1. From then, Walsh reared back and found a new gear.

King Philip improved to 8-0 with the win and Petrillo said the team’s up-tempo play style should serve them well going forward.

“We like to be aggressive,” Petrillo said. “We’ve been working on putting the ball in play, playing strong defense and are a speedy team. I feel good about this year.”