The Bethel Blast 12-and-under softball team defeated North Reading, Mass., Gold, 6-0, in Sunday’s championship game of the Summer Splash tournament in Westford, Mass. The victory capped a dominating performance by Bethel, which went 6-0 and outscored opponents 67-10.
Pitcher Kiley Banks hurled her third shutout of the tournament in the finale, holding the previous unbeaten North Reading team to three hits while striking out 10 without issuing a walk. Only one runner advanced to third, and she retired 15 straight batters to finish the game. Bethel played flawlessly behind her, with second baseman Allison Renner contributing four assists and one putouts Sarah Cardillo caught two balls in deep right field to help erase North Reading rallies.
Megan Fuller sparked the offense with three hits, three stolen bases and three runs scored. Stephanie Tito, Isabel Kent and Banks had two hits each for Bethel, which took control with a run in the first and three in the second. Banks also had two RBIs.
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En route to the championship, Bethel defeated Westford, 16-3; Tewksbury, Mass., 9-4; and North Reading Green, 8-0, during pool play on Saturday. In elimination games on Sunday, Bethel won its quarterfinal of the Central Massachusetts Storm, 15-3, before beating Westford, 13-0, in the semifinals.
Banks went 4-0 in the tournament and Julia Garcia went 2-0. Fuller ignited te offense all weekend, scoring 13 runs, hitting .636 and stealing 10 bases. Renner scored 10 runs, had a .611 on-base percentage and hit .428. Kayla Guzzetti ripped five hits and had seven RBIs and Morgan Matthews scored seven runs while compiling a .642 on-base percentage.
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Bethel rides its momentum into this week’s season-ending Fairfield County Fastpitch Softball League tournament. The Blast opens the tournament Thursday against the Fairfield Fury 99s. Games continue through the weekend at the Bethel Educational Complex. Bethel (23-9-1 overall) went 10-2 in the FCFSL and allowed just 22 runs in 12 games.
The Massachusetts victory was a total team effort for the Blast, whose other members include Bridget Kennedy, McKenna Trohalis, Jordan Markward and Tatiana Cuneo.
Stats were contributed by coaches and parents.
