Look at the results from the Sunapee High softball team’s latest undefeated NHIAA Division IV championship season, and it may appear as though the whole thing was easy. After all, the average final score was 19-1.
Yet, the Lakers certainly had their share of challenges. The 2016 starters of arguably the two most important non-pitching defensive positions — catcher and shortstop — had graduated and their replacements were freshmen.
Sunapee also had seven straight road games to start the year and, even when the Lakers were at home, they weren’t on their field. The region’s cold, wet spring hit Sunapee’s field particularly hard, so much that the Lakers held just a half-dozen outdoor practices all season.
“There are a lot of things you can’t do inside. You definitely have to scale back practicing defensive strategy,” ninth-year Lakers coach Bonnie Cruz said. “You do a lot in the batting cage, try to get your swing down, hit a lot of balls off the tee.”
Sunapee’s hitting acumen was evident while outscoring its first two opponents, 25-4, followed by an 8-4 win at Derryfield despite several defensive mishaps. Freshman catcher Ellie Frederick — kid sister to senior twins Katie Frederick, the ace pitcher, and second baseman Meggy Frederick — was still settling into her role behind the plate, contributing to a number of unearned Cougar runs.
“I think we had four errors in that game. That was a good early-season lesson game for us,” Cruz said.
Sunapee responded with six straight shutouts, the lone close battle coming in a 1-0 decision at neighboring rival Newport. Katie Frederick and Tiger freshman pitcher Lacey McNeal combined for 31 strikeouts and four hits allowed, and Frederick scored the winning run in the top of the seventh on a bunt by senior Jessica Parsons.
The upside to having so many road games to start the season? A bevy at home to finish the year, of course. Including a doubleheader with Farmington during which they played as the road team for one game, the Lakers went 9-0 in Sunapee, with five shutouts to end the regular season.
The only game it won by fewer than 10 runs during the stretch was its rematch with Derryfield, as all three Frederick sisters hit solo home runs to propel a 5-1 decision.
“It’s nice to be home at the end of the season, especially with how busy it is at the end of the school year for the seniors,” Cruz said. “The schedule actually worked in our favor that way.”
Sunapee’s No. 1 seeding earned it a first-round bye, which also meant a 10-day layoff before its first playoff game. The Lakers showed no rust during a 9-1 win over Portsmouth Christian in the quarterfinals, nor in a 12-0, mercy-rule-shortened victory against No. 5 Moultonborough in the semis.
That set up a what proved to be Sunapee’s toughest test of the season, a third tussle with Derryfield in the final.
Katie Frederick was brilliant in the circle as usual, but so was Cougar junior Emily Moll. They combined to allow just five baserunners through 6½ innings, keeping it a scoreless deadlock entering the bottom of the seventh.
The Lakers took advantage of the game’s lone error, as senior Faith Larpenter hit a lead-off single and advanced to second on a bobble in right field. Parsons singled her to third before sophomore Hannah Cooney laced a first-pitch single to left, driving Larpenter home for a 1-0 win and competing the Lakers’ second straight undefeated season.
The success came as no surprise to Katie Frederick, who’s been on the roster for all but one of Sunapee High’s nine girls ball-sport championships since 2013, including three straight in both basketball and softball.
“I think we’ve played well under pressure all season,” Frederick said after the final. “At this stage, we expect to get runners on base and expect to get them in scoring position.”
Cruz, the Sunapee Central Elementary School physical education teacher, has known many of the players since they were kindergartners. The Fredericks moved to town when Katie and Meggy were in fourth grade.
“Everyone on this year’s team works hard and respects the game, and they knew what our common goal was,” Cruz said. “Everyone on the field played so well together, and the community was so supportive.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.