Credit: Emily Davids

Laughing, (left to right) seniors Kiera Hines, Kelsey Kaufmann, Vivian Brevard, Sophia Beckett and Aubrey Calabro hold up pictures of them when they were little.

On Wednesday, May 13, the varsity softball team beat Waltham on senior night. Wayland had a strong offensive performance and 15 strikeouts from senior pitcher Sophia Beckett which led to a 6-1 win.

The game was played at Cochituate Field in Wayland. Before the game, posters celebrating each senior were hung in the dugout and on the backstop. The seniors also received snack-filled gift baskets from junior right fielder Ryan Frutman.

Before the game, Wayland head coach Sarah Woodside gave a short speech honoring the seniors.

“[The seniors] always have each other’s backs, and each and every one of them brings something different to the table, whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Woodside said.

The team’s seniors are Sophia Beckett, Kelsey Kaufmann, Kiera Hines, Vivian Brevard and Aubrey Calabro. Beckett, Kaufmann and Hines are captains.

“Once you’ve been in the program for a really long time, it’s so nice to finally be the ones being celebrated on senior night,” Hines said.

First inning:

Beckett set the tone for the game early by striking out Waltham’s leadoff batter. Waltham did not score in the first inning, and Wayland took a 1-0 lead after Kaufmann had a single to score Hines.

“We backed up our pitcher right away in the first inning, scoring first, and then we just kept going with the hits and scoring runs,” Wayland assistant coach Paul Buccheri said.

Second inning:

Beckett recorded three straight strikeouts in the second inning to get Wayland back into the dugout quickly. Wayland also couldn’t get any runners on this inning, so the score stayed 1-0 Wayland.

Third inning:

Wayland started the third inning with two strikeouts from Beckett and a ground out to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the third, Brevard and Hines both reached on errors, and Beckett was hit by a pitch before Kaufmann grounded out to score a run.

With sophomore Eliza Goldman up to bat, a passed ball scored two runs to put Wayland up 5-0.

“[One of my favorite moments] was the double stolen runs at home on the pass ball,” Buccheri said.

Sophomore third-basemen Kaitlyn DiJulia later doubled to left field, bringing Goldman home. The inning ended with Wayland leading 5-0.

Fourth inning:

Waltham started off the fourth inning reaching base twice on errors, but Beckett was able to get out of the inning with two more strikeouts without letting up a run. In the bottom of the fourth, Brevard got a single and reached second on an error; however, Wayland was not able to score any runs, and the score remained 5-0 Wayland.

Fifth inning:

Beckett struck out Waltham’s first batter in the fifth inning, and the second batter grounded out to Hines, who was playing second base.

“[One of my favorite moments was] making a play with one of my closest friends, Kelsey,” Hines said.

Beckett struck out the third batter swinging. Wayland didn’t score any runs in the bottom of the fifth after a few pop outs.

Sixth inning:

Beckett struck out the first two batters of the sixth, and the third out was a groundout to Weston High School freshman Olivia Kirmelewicz. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Gorke hit a double to left field. According to Woodside, this hit was one of the key moments from the game.

“Sophia Gorke hit a rope to left field, which really started us strong for the sixth inning,” Woodside said.

The hit energized the dugout for the remainder of the game.

“Gorke’s bomb over the left fielder got me fired up,” Kaufmann said. “I was so happy for her because she’s such a good player and she was due for such a good hit and it came, so practice pays off.”

Courtesy runner Edan Parker later scored for Gorke, and the inning ended with Wayland ahead 6-0.

Seventh inning:

In the seventh inning, Waltham scored their only run after an error on a pop-up from Beckett. Beckett struck out the final batter of the game to secure the win. Beckett finished with 15 strikeouts and is now up to 136 strikeouts this year.

After the game, the team gathered with friends and family to celebrate the seniors and the win. Kaufmann credits the team’s positive energy for the success.

“We’re always up off the bench and cheering on our teammates, trying to make the most ruckus, and I feel like [this] energy translates into hits and making plays,” Kaufmann said.

This season is Buccheri’s first year coaching at Wayland, and he said the seniors’ leadership stood out to him.

“You never know what you’re going to see when you join a new team, and I think that the seniors that we have are very great leaders, and it’s really great to be a part of the team,” Buccheri said.

Although the team is senior-led, Woodside is excited to see how players will step up next season.

“I think we have a great group of underclassmen,” Woodside said. “We have a lot of talent coming up, and I’m really excited for what they’re going to be looking like next year.”

The varsity softball team’s next game is on May 18 at Bedford.

Gallery • 18 Photos

Credit: Emily Davids

Laughing, (left to right) seniors Kiera Hines, Kelsey Kaufmann, Vivian Brevard, Sophia Beckett and Aubrey Calabro hold up pictures of them when they were little.