HARWICH ─ It's been quite a run for the Monomoy girls varsity softball team, which played its way recently into the Div. 3 South Semifinals with a commanding 10-0 shutout of Upper Cape last Thursday, followed by an equally stellar 5-1 victory against Bristol-Plymouth on Monday.

The wins mark the first time the Sharks have not only won in the post-season, but advanced, with the No. 3 seeded team poised at press time to take on No. 2 West Bridgewater at Taunton High on Wednesday.

Their tournament adventure began June 1 at Potter's Field when Monomoy hosted the No. 14 seed Upper Cape Tech, earning a 10-0 shutout on the strength of Mollie Charest's pitching and a slew of solid hits.

Charest pitched a one-hitter that included a dozen strikeouts and only two walks as fans cheered the team on from the bleachers behind home plate on a sunny afternoon, while Monomoy batters amassed 16 hits in the outing.

The fun began when Rachel and Mackenzie Cardillo each swung into singles to land on first and second respectively before Hannah Potter loaded the bases with a single of her own. Next up was leadoff batter Eliza Hawthorne, who put Monomoy ahead 2-0 with her single.

Then the hits just kept coming, along with the runs. Karley Marchese swung into a triple in the third before scoring on a single from Samantha Barr to put Monomoy ahead 3-0, with the Sharks plating three more runs in the fifth and another four in the sixth.

Mackenzie Cardillo ended up 3-for-3 with a run and a walk, while Potter, Charest, Barr, Rachel Cardillo, and Marchese had two hits apiece, with Marchese adding a double to her triple in the fifth.

Following the game the team's four seniors – Hawthorne, Marchese, Potter, and Carlee Tolley – were honored in an informal but spirited ceremony complete with flowers and fanfare.

After a schedule change moved the next game from Saturday to a much more inclement Monday, the undaunted Sharks took up bats again, this time against Bristol-Plymouth, earning a 5-1 win at home.

This time Charest threw a two-hitter, with the team allowing only one run to their five sending the Sharks deeper in the tourney than ever before.

“We have been playing well so far,” said head coach Stacy Yarnall.

With heavy fog that bordered on light rain blanketing the field, Monomoy's freshman hurler Charest led the way with seven strikeouts, three walks and allowing just one run as Monomoy improved to 19-2 overall.

The Sharks kept up their strong game play, taking a 1-0 lead when Karley Marchese hit a ground ball single to start the scoring. Hawthorne hit an RBI single to make it 2-0, with Hannah Potter racing home on a dropped fly for the third run, Hawthorne coming around on a wild pitch and Julie Slade bringing in the final run in the fifth.

“It was a good game overall,” said Yarnall. “Mollie has had solid performances on the mound for both games, and Mackenzie Cardillo had an outstanding catch in right field to turn a double play.”

At press time the Sharks were setting sights on West Bridgewater.

“West Bridgewater has always been a good team, so it should be a good matchup,” said Yarnall. “We need to play well defensively against them and step up at the plate and we should do well.”