Purtschert packing punch for upstart softball
May 23—ANDOVER — It was one of those moments — humorous, rewarding, and yeah, pretty impactful.
Facing one of the state's premier pitchers, North Andover's Brigid Gaffny, Andover High's Molly Purtschert belted a bomb. The blast came days after her coach, Rick Quattrocchi, had espoused the virtues of running hard on the bases all the time.
"Here she is, listening to what I have to say, and going as hard as she can out there," said Quattrocchi.
Little did Purtschert know, the ball had cleared the fence for the sophomore's first-ever varsity home run.
"She came sprinting around second and didn't know what to do," the Warriors coach laughed.
The way Purtschert has been pounding the softball this spring, the coach might want to take a little time at practice discussing the "home run trot."
She and the youthful Warriors are grinding out a solid campaign in the rugged Merrimack Valley Conference. The Warriors, at 8-8, sit at No. 24 in the most recent Division 1 power rankings, seemingly headed for a date in the postseason.
And Purtschert, a pitcher and utility player, has been right at the center of the action.
"We're a pretty young team, and I think we've improved a lot," Purtschert said last Wednesday's win at Lawrence. "It's really coming together, especially the last few games. It's honestly really fun (coming to the park every day). We know we have nothing to lose. Every game is just an opportunity to show everyone what we can do."
Spending time in the circle, in center, left and at second base this spring, the versatile Purtschert entered the week with a .361 batting average.
This comes off a freshman season where Quattrocchi did not have her hit.
That, plus a tough stretch in May into June last spring, caused a change in Purtschert's usual routine. She gave up winter track for the Warriors and dedicated herself to softball.
"I had a little bit of a rough end to last season. My confidence was down, and I wasn't throwing as well as I had at the beginning of the season," said Purtschert, who also plays varsity soccer for Andover High.
"This winter, I decided to really focus not only on getting my pitching back, but also focusing on other parts of my game like hitting. I worked a lot on my hitting over the winter. I didn't hit at all last year, but I've been able to be consistently in the lineup this year, and it's made it a lot more fun."
Purtschert sought out the legend, Dave Bettencourt, for instruction, and there is simply no substitute for reps.
"I went to a hitting coach and was also working on my own in the offseason, getting reps in my garage and things like that," she said.
And for both Purtschert and Andover, the future is looking bright. The roster is dotted with gifted underclassmen like sophomore catcher Aria Fraser and freshman slugger Eve Rittershaus.
"We won't have a lot of turnover for next year," Purtschert said. "Now we just have to keep going. Keep the energy up. Keep supporting each other."
