WOODSTOCK — Cassie Clark led the way offensively for Windsor High’s softball team and hit a career milestone in the process to help lead the Yellow Jackets to a 14-10 win over rival Woodstock High on the road Tuesday afternoon.
Clark had a team-high four RBIs on the day for Windsor, the first of which came on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, which was the 100th of her career.
“It feels good to know that hard work pays off,” Clark, who also hit a three-run home run during the contest, said of the achievement.
Her head coach, Wendy Moody, was equally excited to see her player, who is also a couple of hits shy of 100 for her career, reach that RBI mark.
“For a kid that plays travel ball all the time and really works at her craft in the offseason, I’m awfully glad a kid like that got this opportunity, reached that milestone,” Moody said. “It’s huge for her — I’m really proud of her.”
Tuesday’s win, which was the fifth in a row for the Jacks, is more evidence of a program that seems to be making some progress.
Windsor, which finished with just one win in Division III last season, now sits at 7-2, albeit as a Division IV team in 2026.
“Wins bring momentum, and so I think that it has brought the girls confidence, so that at their at-bats or when they’re fielding plays, they’re feeling more settled and ready to go and feeling more confident about what they can do. And so these wins inspire that, which makes them play cleaner and produces the end results that we see,” Moody said.
“Yes, we did move down (to Division IV), but I would dare to say that these are pretty quality wins that they’re having to battle through,” she added.
The Jacks jumped on the Wasps early in a five-run first inning, thanks to Clark’s fielder’s choice, a wild pitch, an RBI single from Hailey Pascarelli, a groundout from Molly Burke, and a passed ball.
After a scoreless bottom half of the frame, the Jacks continued to add to their lead. They scored four in the top of the second on Clark’s three-run home run and an inside-the-park home run from Mackenzie Kleefisch.
From there, Windsor’s Burke continued her dominance in the circle, and Woodstock’s Olivia Westney found her footing.
The Jacks went up 11-0 in the top of the fourth on a wild pitch and a groundout from Cadence Dougher.
The substantial lead served as an opportunity for the Jacks to make some changes in the field and the circle, which provided an opportunity for Woodstock.
In the bottom of the fourth, Woodstock scored six runs on an RBI single from Reese Osgood, an error, two wild pitches, a walk, and a hit batter.
“In forward thinking about what our needs will be in the postseason, I want to continue to get some of our players time in the field,” Moody said. “So, making those switches comes with some of what you saw in the middle of the game, but those are bumps that we’ve got to get through because we’re going to need all these girls when it comes to the postseason.”
In the fifth, Burke, who had been dominant through three innings, returned to the circle to stop the bleeding, and the Jacks scored two runs in the top of the sixth to go up 13-6.
The Wasps took advantage of some Windsor errors to score three in the sixth, and the Jacks answered with a run in the top of the seventh to make the game 14-9.
Down to the final at-bats of the game, chaos ensued.
After Burke got the first two Wasps out, Madison Snide walked and made it all the way to third base, catching Windsor’s defense lacking. The next batter, Violet Alexander, struck out on a dropped third strike, but did not immediately make a break for first base. But she was not tagged and eventually took an unorthodox path to first base as Snide came home.
Initially, the home plate umpire called for the end of the game with a 14-9 final. But, as Windsor lined up to shake hands with its opponent, the base umpire, after some discussion, ruled that neither the batter nor the runner was out, resuming the game with a 14-10 score.
After a double from Gwenyth Boudreau, Burke got the next batter to ground out and put an end to the contest.
The loss dropped Woodstock to 1-6 on the season and was their sixth consecutive defeat. Despite that, first-year Head Coach Bitty Alexander is happy about the progress her team has made.
“In general, their skills have progressed so far,” she said. “I think every single person has taken this season as an opportunity to ask for advice and get advice.”
Up next for the Wasps is a visit to Arlington Memorial on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The Jacks host Mill River on Friday at 4 p.m.
