On Wednesday, April 24, the Archie Williams varsity softball team took on the San Marin Mustangs at Red Hill field. Although Archie Williams put up a significant fight, the Mustangs came out on top 4-3, leaving the Falcons with a 9-3 record in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL). Just before the game, the Falcons celebrated their senior night, an opportunity for the school, fans, and parents to recognize and honor the seniors on the team.  

“It’s been great for four years. I’ve loved playing on this team; we have a really good community here and we’re really supportive of each other,” said senior captain Amelia Richer.

The Mustangs came out hot, loading the bases at the top of the first inning. Luckily for the Falcons, junior pitcher Paige Murphy struck out two batters and tagged a runner out at second base. Both the Falcons and Mustangs made strong efforts to take the lead, but the score remained 0-0 by the top of the second inning.

“We came into the game with really good energy and we tried to stay hype the whole time,” said sophomore Chase Unger.

The Falcons carried momentum into the bottom of the second inning, with sophomore Abby Berner and senior captain Sarah Conway getting on base. Paige then stepped up to bat, hitting an RBI double into deep center field to make the score 1-0.

At the top of the third inning, the Falcons kept up their momentum on defense, getting the first three Mustang batters out. The Falcon’s hitting remained consistent, with junior Kennedy Dunsing, freshman Lydia Battaglia, and Amelia loading the bases. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Mustangs pitchers held strong, not allowing any change to the score from the third to the fourth inning.

At the top of the fifth inning, San Marin had the bases loaded when a batter on the Mustangs hit a grand slam, loading the scoreboard 1-4 in favor of San Marin. Kennedy started off hot with a single in the bottom of the fifth, and Lydia followed in her footsteps with another single, advancing to first base while Kennedy took second. The Mustangs responded by picking up their defense, getting the next three batters out and ending the inning.

The sixth inning started with a score of 1-4 Mustangs. San Marin attempted to get their players on base, but the top of the sixth was quickly adjourned after two pop flies. The Falcons suffered three quick outs at the bottom of the sixth, unable to get anyone on base. 

“We had a few small little errors, which wasn’t the game changer. The thing was we left too many in scoring position without getting a sacrifice hit or putting the ball in play,” said coach Joe Bell.

The score remained 1-4 at the top of the seventh inning, with the Mustangs in the lead. Luckily for Archie, Paige struck out the side, shifting the Falcons from defense to offense.

The Falcons’ picked their momentum back up by securing baserunners for Lydia to bat in with an RBI single for the Falcons, 2-4.  Amelia then succeeded in batting in Kennedy to make the score 3-4, and just seconds later, Lydia stole third base, and freshman Sam Singer was walked. Despite the Falcon’s opportunistic position and valiant efforts, the Mustangs executed a double play and won the game.

Following the disappointing loss, the Falcons look to contend for MCAL playoffs in their next league game against the Marin Catholic Wildcats Monday, April 29. The match will take place at 4:30 p.m. at Marin Catholic High School.