WOBURN — The Wakefield High softball team defeated Andover 6-5 on Saturday and Woburn 24-12 on Monday to push their winning streak to three games and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Following their 7-3 win over Burlington on Thursday, the Warriors traveled back to Andover High on Saturday, picking up a game from April 15 that was postponed in the 5th inning with Andover up 1-0.
A tense, low-scoring struggle turned into a slugfest in the final three innings on Saturday. Wakefield wasted no time in getting on the board as the game picked up in the top of the 5th with one out and a runner at second base. Clutch hits from junior Jackie Sullivan, sophomore Kayla Shaw and sophomore Bella Burns gave Wakefield the lead.
Andover battled back in the next two frames and took a 5-3 lead into the 7th inning.
Senior captain Jade Waterhouse came to the plate with two runners on and hit a 2-RBI double to tie it. Sophomore Caroline Burns then stepped up with another huge hit, bringing home Waterhouse with a single to give the visitors a 6-5 lead.
Junior Kathryn Sliski shut the opposing Warriors down in the bottom of the 7th to seal a big win for Div. 2 Wakefield. Andover was a Div. 1 state tournament team last year.
The Warriors built on that momentum with another wild win on the road, this time in Woburn on Monday.
The two teams combined for 36 runs, a rare occurrence in a sport that employs the mercy rule. Wakefield’s 24 runs ended up being necessary as the Tanners continued to extend the game with strong hitting of their own.
The Burns batters led the way again in this one as Caroline Burns finished with a home run and 6 RBI while Molly Burns went 5-for-6 with a home run and 4 RBI. Sullivan and Shaw each added 4 RBI.
Wakefield will look to keep it going this week. They hosted Melrose (1-6) at Veterans Field this morning after press time. On Friday, the Warriors travel to Aprile Field in Wilmington to take on an always-strong Wildcats team (4-2).
Wakefield and Wilmington have had a great rivalry over the last few years. Two years ago, Wilmington beat Wakefield twice in the regular season before the Warriors got revenge in the state tournament with a 12-11 victory. Wakefield won both regular season matchups last year in close games (4-3 and 4-1).
On Saturday, Wakefield will host Billerica (3-3) at 10 a.m.