AMHERST — After seeing a five-run lead slip away in the seventh inning on Sunday in the Division 2 softball final, Burlington coach Kristen Farrell wasn’t worried. One look at her team’s faces confirmed it.
The Red Devils shook off Tewksbury’s stunning seventh-inning comeback and used a RBI single from Maddie King in the eighth to take a 10-9 win and the program’s first state championship.
“That eighth inning just had a different feel right from the first pitch,” said Farrell, who was a part of a pair of Burlington teams that had lost in state finals. “This is just such a composed group of girls. And this couldn’t happen to a better group.”
Leading 9-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, things looked to be on cruise control for Burlington (21-4). But in almost the blink of an eye, it wasn’t.
Rebecca Harris tripled to begin the inning for Tewksbury (19-6). Abby Tower then ripped a long blast over the right field fence to cut the lead to 9-6.
Sam Perkins’ double was followed by a Whitney Gigante walk. Avery Della Piana then singled home Perkins before Alyssa Avery’s sac fly cut the lead to 9-8.
Burlington’s Cece Imbimbo struck out the next batter to get her team to the brink of the crown but Sydney Whalen doubled to left to tie the game, leaving Imbimbo needing to get Sam Ryan on a liner to second to force extras.
No. 9 batter Charlotte Willey got the Red Devils going with a one-out double. Imbimbo was hit by a pitch before Ryan got Morgan Ryan swinging for the second out. That brought up second baseman King (3-for-5, three RBIs) and the sophomore delivered a single to score Willey with the go-ahead run.
Imbimbo took the circle with a second chance to bring her team the title and she didn’t waste it as she got the side in order to finally allow her team to celebrate.
“You could see that Cece wasn’t going to let us lose,” Farrell said. “She just wasn’t. We are going to miss her next year when she’s at Merrimack.”
The clubs traded runs through most of the first five innings before Burlington used a five-run top of the sixth to take a 9-4 lead.