KINGSTON — In its game with Cedar Heights Junior High School, Kingston Cavaliers fastpitch coach Scott McKay said his team learned its biggest lesson — one that goes beyond the game.
Down 3-0 after the first inning, the girls faced a fork in the road — as all teams do in that situation, the first-year skipper said.
“You’ve got two ways you can go,” McKay commented. “You can fold your cards or you can come around.”
The Cavs opted for the latter, outscoring their opponents 11-1 in the remaining six innings behind the pitching of Kendal Peiguss.
“The kids kept battling and battling, they kept fighting,” McKay said. “They would not give up. And that’s a very good thing — it’s a life skill.”
The game was a good indicator for a team that persevered all season, albeit finishing below .500 at 4-6. But the squad brought a winning attitude to the field each game, McKay said, in part because they were confident that as a team, each member could step up in a different manner.
“On a whole, we competed really well,” McKay commented. “If we weren’t hitting the ball, they’d play some good defense, and when we’d make some mistakes, they’d pick it up offensively.”
McKay came to the program knowing that fastptich in Kingston had plenty of growing room.
“For whatever reason, fastpitch hasn’t been real strong at Kingston historically,” he said. “My hope was to get our numbers up and improve the overall quality of the program.”
By and large, that’s what happened — five players on the team batted at a .343 average or better, including Hannah McCluskey (.471 on the season) and Chelsea Bran (.444 on the season). The team also ended the year putting up a season-high 18 runs versus its cross-North End rivals the Poulsbo Panthers.
“I know they’d say that was their favorite moment of the year,” McKay said. “It was a terrific way to end the season.”
Of his 13 players, seven will move up to high school, including Marissa Gagne-Roth, who played center field and batted .333. But the remaining players — including Bran, Peiguss, McCluskey, Aubin Duncan (who batted .350 this year) and Amanda Chartrand (who had a .267 average) — will all return.
“The really exciting thing about this group is you’ve got the offensive and pitching core coming back,” McKay said. “So there’s lot to look forward to.”
