'Everybody hits': Sophomore MVP spearheading lineup of lethal Silver Lake softball sluggers

KINGSTON − There were chants, clapping and no shortage of smiles.

The Silver Lake Regional High softball team piled the celebration on Delaney Moquin at home plate after the sophomore sensation hammered a walk-off two-run homer to left field to seal the No. 8 Lakers' 15-2 win over No. 25 Oliver Ames in the Division 2 Round of 32 on Tuesday.

Head coach Tony Pina then gathered his team for a postgame huddle near the home dugout. The party only escalated from there. The Lakers (19-2), now headed to a matchup with No. 9 Grafton in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday at 4 p.m. at home, are on quite a roll.

The concept of assembling super-teams is discussed often in pro sports. With six league All-Stars, the Patriot League MVP and a cast of 10 − yes, 10 − players batting .390 or above, this group should be in the South Shore's high school version of the conversation.

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“I would put what this team has the ability and potential to do offensively with some of the best teams I’ve coached," said Pina, who has been at the helm since 2014. "We have athleticism. We have speed throughout the lineup. We have our 7-8-9 batters (in the lineup) getting us one or two hits a game, minimum. And, a top of the order that can hit for power.”

“From the top to the bottom, everybody hits," Moquin said. "Everyone puts the bat on the ball.”

Literally, everyone.

Sophomore Madyson Bryan; Moquin, who recently took home Patriot League Keenan Division MVP honors; and senior Brianna Ghilardi lead the charge with team-best batting averages of .544, .539 and .535, respectively.

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Junior Samantha Waters (.463), freshman Miranda Johnson (.452), junior Nina O'Neil (.449), sophomore Alanna Waters (.426), sophomore Hannah Selig (.400), sophomore Addison Willett (.400), sophomore Jenna Slyker (.390) and senior Autumn Fletcher (.327) fill out the rest of the lineup card.

The scariest part is, there are only two seniors in the bunch. Almost all of them, presumably, will return for more next spring.

“That’s the thing about this team," Pina said. "They work so hard at their game during the season and outside of the season. They came in super-focused. Offensively, I think we might still be improving.”

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The Lakers have scored 10 runs or more 14 times in the 21 games played this season, and 15 or more six times, including Tuesday's mercy-rule win. Silver Lake is undefeated in those games; the team mustered a total of five runs in the two losses it suffered.

The figures were similar last year. The team scored in double-digits 14 times (14-0), even 20-plus three times, in its 18-2 regular season until it plated just one in a 5-1 season-ending loss to local rival Plymouth North in the Sweet 16.

So, what's the secret? Or is it a superpower?

“We really focus on keeping your bat in the hitting zone as long as possible," Pina said. "Just making sure they’re getting on plane with the ball, and staying in the hitting zone because that gives you opportunities to hit outside, inside and pitches down the middle, as opposed to swinging a little bit too late. That limits the number of pitches you’ll be able to hit. They’re really dialed in on what we’re trying to do, mechanically.”

Moquin, a Kingston resident, won the Patriot League Keenan Division MVP award by leading the league in ERA. Entering the final week of the regular season May 22, it was posted by the league as 0.74 across 75 innings, with the second-best being Pembroke's Kelly McGee at 1.79 in 109 innings. Moquin also had 138 strikeouts at that point. She added seven against Oliver Ames on Tuesday.

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“It definitely wouldn’t be the same without the defense behind me," Moquin said. "When someone says you get a no-hitter, it’s not really a no-hitter when you have the whole defense fielding everything behind you.”

“She’s a sophomore, but that’s just a number," Pina said. "She’s a competitor. She’s got a focus in her that you usually see with upperclassmen. I think she’s just starting to see the impact player she can be, both in the circle and at the plate. This (the tournament) would be the perfect time for her to explode offensively and defensively.”

Moquin is the second Laker in as many seasons to take home the MVP honor, following strikeout artist Caroline Peterson, who did so as a senior last year.

This sophomore is in elite company.

“We’ve had a few (players like this) here, but we’ve had (only) a few here," Pina said. "You can have a superstar, but (you need to) have players that can help that superstar shine. I think that’s the combination we have, and the potential we have.”

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Bryan, Samantha and Alanna Waters, O'Neil, Ghilardi joined Moquin in receiving regular-season awards. All were selected as Patriot League All-Stars.

In Tuesday's win, lead-off hitter Alanna Waters went 3-for-4 with a double, Samantha Waters went 2-for-3 with one walk and three runs scored, Bryan went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, Moquin went 2-for-4 with the walk-off homer, Slyker went 2-for-3 and Johnson went 2-for-2 with a walk.

“We have a lot of other players that, when the lights are bright, they step up," Pina said. "That’s something about this team that I think will, potentially, give us a shot to make a serious run at this thing."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Silver Lake softball hitters putting up staggering numbers this season