Tiverton sweeps No. 4 Patriots to claim Division III title
Young Davies squad learns valuable lessons
PROVIDENCE – There were some parts of the game where the Davies Tech softball team did exceedingly well against Tiverton on Sunday afternoon.
There were also parts where the Patriots experienced their fair share of struggles, and those proved to be too tall an order to overcome in a game of great significance.
Seven errors by Davies led to seven unearned runs and enabled Tiverton to claim the Division III championship, 8-4, at Rhode Island College. In the batter’s box, the Patriots out-hit their counterparts, 11-9. Getting that game-changing base knock proved to be elusive as the runners-up stranded nine baserunners, six in scoring position.
“Hitting is our strong point, but we had a couple of bad mistakes,” Patriots head coach Bob Morris said. “That certainly didn’t help us out at all. It is what it is. That’s what you get when you have a young team.”
The win enabled Tiverton, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, to complete a two-game sweep of the D-III finals. The first game took place Saturday night with the Tigers winning, 11-3. Had No. 4 seed Davies prevailed in Game 2, a third and decisive game would have also taken place on Sunday.
The tough day in the field overshadowed a strong performance in the circle by Davies starting pitcher Abi Choiniere. The freshman needed just five pitches to retire the Tigers in order in the first inning and went on to strike out the side in the second. She finished with six strikeouts and one walk.
Choiniere wasn’t the only Davies underclassmen to take the field on Sunday. The in- field behind her featured three freshmen and one sophomore. The program is scheduled to lose only two players via graduation, thus it’s conceivable to believe the Patriots will be in the hunt once again next spring.
“The future looks good,” Murray said. “We have some nice building blocks.”
“Our freshmen were a big part of our team this year,” said Davies senior captain/catcher Meg Connors, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored. “They’ve been to the championship and now know what it’s all about.”
Of the seven errors, four were committed by the Davies outfielders. The Patriots dropped two fly balls in the fourth and Tiverton took advantage with two runs that stretched the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.
Davies did get one run back in the fourth when junior Julie Desautel lined a hot smash into left field that scored sophomore Alaynah Rubio, who walked and stole second. The Pa- triots would have to wait until the seventh before adding to their run total, but by that point they were looking at a seven-run deficit.
The mountain became higher to climb after Tiverton put up a four-spot in the seventh. Starting pitcher Margeaux Souza helped out her own cause with an RBI double that made it 7-1. Souza did record the game’s final three outs, but it wasn’t a smooth ride to the finish line. The Patriots scored three times with two outs, with the rally starting with a double from Connors and a single by sophomore Taylor Kent that made it 8-2.
Rubio then singled and with two on, freshman Sophia Babcock drove them both in with a single. Babcock advanced to third after the Tigers committed a throwing error, but she remained there. Souza (six strikeouts) fielded a groundball back to the mound for the game’s final out.
Kent finished with two hits, as did ninth grader Katrina Fernandes for the Patriots, who defeated No. 5 Classical and No. 1 seed Exeter/West Greenwich on their way to reaching the championship round.
“No one expected that,” said Morris about the 11-1 win over the Scarlet Knights in the semifinals. “I told the girls to keep their heads up. It’s a great group that did everything that was asked of them. I couldn’t be prouder.”
“There were a lot of nerves because we are so young, but next year, watch out,” Connors said. Tiverton 010 201 4 --- 8-9-1
Davies Tech 000 100 3 --- 4-11-7
Margeaux Souza and Ella Schneider. Abi Choiniere and Meghan Connors. 2B: Jaimi Vaillancourt, Margeaux Souza; Connors.