Nauset Softball Looks To Capitalize On Unprecedented Win

When the dust settles and all is said and done, there is a good chance the Nauset softball team’s April 9 victory over St. John Paul II will go down as one of the most jarring outcomes in the entire state’s spring sports slate.

The Warriors and Lions combined for an eye-popping 65 runs and Nauset ultimately held on to earn a 34-31 victory after exploding for 20 runs in the final three innings.

Offensive slugfests are hardly uncommon in softball — Nauset outlasted Falmouth to earn a 20-19 win last spring — but it is rare for both teams to exceed 30 runs scored.

The high-scoring affair began with fireworks as both teams scored six runs apiece in their first trip to the plate. JP II scored five more in the second and then 11 in the third to garner a 22-6 lead, but Nauset answered with eight in the third and then 12 more in the fourth after allowing just one run in the top half of the frame.

The 12-run fourth inning gave Nauset a 26-23 lead. The Warriors added two more in the fifth before surrendering eight in the top of the sixth. They answered the Lions’ rally with one of their own, however, and sealed the win with a six-run bottom of the sixth.

The back-and-forth contest marks Nauset’s lone win of the young season, as the team dropped to 1-3 following a 20-5 loss to rival Dennis-Yarmouth on April 11.

After relying on its five seniors — especially pitcher Kaylee Davis and her batterymate, catcher Grace Harris — to play pivotal roles last spring, Nauset boasts a younger roster this season with a combined nine eighth-graders and freshmen.

Three seniors — Mia Carroll, Lydia Morse and Naomi Francis — carry the torch as this year’s leaders alongside a host of juniors and sophomores.

The team will need all the help it can get when it looks to avenge its 21-2 loss to Bristol Plymouth in a April 17 rematch before facing St. John Paul II again on April 22.