Selter's walk-off the highlight as B-R softball, baseball teams win first-round matchups

BRIDGEWATER – Twice this season, the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High baseball team hit for the fences to win high-profile games in walk-off fashion.

Monday afternoon, it was the softball team's turn.

Courtesy of Ava Selter.

Selter, a junior third baseman who transferred to B-R from Southeastern Regional this year, cranked a no-doubt solo shot over the right-field fence to lift the No. 8 Trojans over No. 25 Natick, 2-1, and into the Division 1 Sweet 16, where they will encounter No. 9 Methuen on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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It was Selter's sixth home run of the season, and her only hit of the afternoon.

Any connection between the baseball/softball walk-off homers this year?

“Maybe,” Selter said with a grin.

Just a few strides away on the nearby diamond, senior Evan Samsel knocked in two RBIs for the game-sealing scores as the ninth-ranked baseball team wrapped up its tournament opener with a 3-1 win over No. 24 Bishop Feehan approximately one hour before Selter's blast. The Trojans (17-4) advance to play at No. 9 Weymouth in the Sweet Sixteen (date/time TBD).

Samsel, the seventh-hitting second baseman on an off-day from pitching duties, accounted for two of the Trojans' six total hits in a 2-for-3 outing.

“When you’ve got guys in the bottom of the lineup that are essentially winning you the game, it just goes to show you the depth you have on the team," B-R baseball coach Mike Connolly said. "Once the playoff starts, every guy has a job to do. We're not going to hit five home runs to win a state championship. Everyone pieces it together little by little and, today, it worked out for us.”

Selter's walk-off blast

After rounding the bases with a smile and leaping into a crowd of teammates piled on home plate, Selter had a moment to collect herself.

The Trojans' softball team relinquished a 1-0 lead the half-inning prior, behind back-to-back Natick hits that drove in the tying run. When Selter approached the plate in the bottom of the seventh, she had struck out in two of her three previous at-bats and the Natick defense picked up two quick outs to come within reach of forcing extra innings.

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But the thought of extras was quickly overshadowed by the shattering ring Selter's bat made upon contact: "That thing went, like, 250 feet right there," B-R softball coach Mike Carrozza said with a laugh. "She got all of that.”

“Literally the best moment ever. It was awesome," Selter said. "I’ve been, kind of, in a hitting slump last game. And then this game, too. I relaxed, and hit how I normally do. Then what I wanted happened.”

Added Carrozza of Selter, “The past couple of games, she hasn’t put the ball in play and she’s been our big hitter all year long. She kept her head level and did what she normally does. She hits the ball hard when she makes contact. It’s great for her."

Lead-off hitter Taylor Reid scored the game's first run in the opening inning on an RBI base hit from Lily Welch (2-for-3, double). Welch then protected the lead by striking out 11 and allowing three hits, just one before the seventh inning. The senior right-hander silenced Natick's seventh-inning rally with consecutive strikeouts to strand the potential go-ahead run at third base.

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“It’s the postseason. I don’t look at seed numbers. Pretty much any team that shows up, you know you're going to get the best they've played all year," Carrozza said of No. 25 Natick, which finished the season 11-9. "They were making plays. It was a battle.”

B-R, which has made the postseason in all but one of Carrozza's 25 years at the helm, is coming off a run to the Division 1 Sweet Sixteen last season where it suffered a one-run loss (4-3) to the eventual champ, No. 3 Taunton as the No. 14 seed.

Selter wasn't on the team then, but she knew a lot of her current teammates through playing club ball in the offseason.

“I want to make it far with them," Selter said. "I love the seniors. I love this team. I want the seniors to remember this year.”

Samsel delivers

Samsel, like Selter, admitted he's been in a rut at the plate recently.

Monday was a fun break-out party for both. Samsel drove in the go-ahead run with a line drive to left field in the fourth inning, scoring Austin Majer. Two innings later, in the sixth, he added a cushion run with a bloop single the other way to bring Owen King home from third.

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“I'll tell you what, Evan on the mound has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s been our guy,” Connolly said of Samsel, who has yet to ink a college letter of intent but is hopeful for an opportunity to come. “He’s a special kid and hopefully he gets to play at the next level because he’s got the heart, as you can see.”

“I’ve been struggling at the plate for a little bit, but I was seeing the ball well today. I trusted my guys getting on base, in scoring position, third base both times, you’ve just got to do a job and put a ball in play," said Samsel, who is available to pitch in the matchup against Weymouth in the next round. "That’s what I did. It worked out.”

The last time Samsel took the mound, he tallied a career-high 10 strikeouts to headline the Trojans' 3-2 Senior Night win over North Attleboro on May 24 in the regular-season finale.

In Monday's win over Bishop Feehan, junior right-hander Jack Ritchie allowed four hits and one earned run in a complete game's effort. He struck out four.

Casey Wensley scored a run, while Chase Balutis and Cam Morrison, a Stonehill College catcher signee, each recorded hits in the win. King went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and one RBI.

“I try to tell the older guys, this is the last time you’re going to play together until you come play for the alumni game. Once the playoffs hit, it resonated with them that tomorrow might not be a thing," Connolly said. "So, we’ve seen a lot more energy. We’ve had a good year. Now we’ve just got to keep it hot.”

“It’s like nothing I’ve seen," Samsel said. "This team from top to bottom – bench guys to starters, bullpen guys – everybody’s locked in. Everybody’s hungry and wants it.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Bridgewater-Raynham baseball, softball win first-round tourney games