Higgins leads Shen to sweep
Sophomore slugger hits three home runs in pair of victories vs. Colonie
The first game of the doubleheader between the Colonie and Shenendehowa softball teams Saturday morning started out the way many might imagine when each squad sent out a standout senior starting pitcher to the circle.
But before morning shifted into the afternoon, a hitting barrage ensued involving both squads. The difference is Shenendehowa kept hitting at an eye-popping scale and Colonie only managed to keep pace for two innings.
Paced by a prolific attack from which positive results came from every slot in the lineup, the Plainsmen erupted for 10 runs combined during the third and fourth innings of the opener that ended up being a 12-9 triumph in the Suburban Council league contest. Shenendehowa kept the sizzling offense coming in the second game, pounding out 14 hits and ending the nonleague contest in five innings with a 14-2 victory over the Garnet Raiders to remain undefeated.
“I feel like we’re off to a good start. First of all, we’re happy to be playing,” said Shenendehowa coach Chris Farquharson, referring to the fact the entire 2020 spring season was canceled statewide because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I like the way we’ve started. Clearly, we have some things to work on.”
“It felt really good coming out here and pounding it,” Shenendehowa sophomore center fielder Kelsey Higgins said.
No one possibly could have
felt any better than Higgins departing the Lisha Kill Sports Complex. Not only did the Plainsmen up their overall record to 6-0 and 5-0 in the Suburban Council, Higgins made certain the superlative exploits she produced Thursday appeared tame compared to what she unleashed upon Colonie.
Higgins ripped a pair of home runs in consecutive innings in the opener against Colonie senior standout Carly Gemmett, then laced a line-drive home run in the nightcap off Emily Ekenwood to complete the doubleheader sweep 4-for-6 with three home runs, seven RBIS, four runs scored and two walks.
“It felt amazing, really great off the bat,” Higgins said.
Higgins, who improved her batting average to .600, elevated her home run total to four after hitting her first of the season Thursday in a 15-0 win against Burnt Hills. Since winning its opener 3-2 over Troy on May 7, Shenendehowa has reeled off five straight victories by a staggering margin of 65-14. Saturday, the Plainsmen pounded out 30 hits and six home runs.
“That was one thing I worried about during quarantine that when we came back, we really had to have our heads together,” Higgins said. “We did, and I think it shows. The team is really doing great and we’re getting along so well.”
The two teams were scoreless in the opener entering the third inning. Shenendehowa erupted for six runs in the top of the inning, featuring home runs by Higgins, Ella Fuda and Heather Junjulas, only to watch the Garnet Raiders rally back with five runs in the bottom of the inning against Shen senior pitcher Marianna Abate.
Shenendehowa responded to Colonie’s output by adding on four more runs in the fourth, featuring Higgins’ second home run of the game. Colonie answered back with
three runs in the bottom of the inning but could not shave its deficit below three runs the rest of the game.
Abate allowed nine hits and only two earned runs. She struck out nine. Gemmett gave up 12 hits and 12 runs (eight earned).
“You had two good pitchers and two good hitting teams facing each other, so you knew we were going to have some runs,” Farquharson said. “Marianna made some good pitches. Carly made some good pitches. Love the amount of hitting we did in both games. It was pretty impressive.”
“I am feeling really great, especially as a team,” Higgins said. “We did really well hitting today. We were definitely a little more relaxed today and it showed on the field.”
Colonie utilized a two-run single from Jenna Shafer (her fourth and fifth RBIS of the day) in the bottom of the first to grab a 2-1 edge in the second game, but the Plainsmen tied
it in the second and took a 5-2 lead in the third on a two-run laser line drive off the bat of Higgins for her third home run on the day.
“Kelsey is a great athlete and a great team player,” Farquharson said.
The Plainsmen pounced for nine runs in the fourth, highlighted by a home run from junior Jada Lambright, an RBI single by Higgins and a two-run single by Natalia Colonie. The game ended via the 12-run mercy rule after Colonie failed to score in the bottom of the fifth against Shen junior pitcher Becca Zawistowski. Every Shen starter generated at least one hit to help secure the doubleheader sweep. Mckenna Barry doubled twice, singled and knocked in three runs and Kelly Powell singled three times for the Plainsmen.