Seniors' sacrifice was at the heart of Archies softball’s growth into a title contender

WORCESTER – Playing on a talented team can sometimes be a double-edged sword.

A star player one year might be relegated to a supporting role the next. Playing time can go from being owned by one person to shared by two.

That was often the case for the Archbishop Williams High softball team. All four seniors on the Bishops sacrificed for the betterment of the team.

Shelby Parr shared the pitching duties with a freshman (Jill Ondrick). Ultimately, the freshman started the final three tournament games. Another senior, Emma Chenette, was a flex player in Wednesday’s state semifinal, playing shortstop without registering an at-bat. Emma O’Neil and Jess Keefe batted out of the last two spots in the lineup.

“We’re all team players,” said Keefe, who hails from Weymouth. “We were all here to win States; we were all here to do whatever it took.”

Ultimately, the Bishops fell a bounce here or there shy of going to the Division 4 state semifinal. In the bottom of the seventh inning, top-seeded Case loaded the bases with no outs. Following a Jill Ondrick strikeout, Case’s Skye Dupre sent a grounder to Chenette. With the infield playing in, the ball caught Chenette on an in-between hop, allowing the Cardinals to advance with a 4-3 victory.

“Emma Chenette is an unbelievable defensive player,” said Archies coach Charlie Conners. “I wouldn’t want that ball hit to anybody else on the infield. If I could do it 100 more times, I’d say hit the ball to Emma Chenette. In that situation we’re in, she got an in-between hop and you’re in, you can’t really control it.”

Seniors sacrifice

Just three years ago, the Bishops finished 6-8 and made the state tournament only on the merit of wanting to compete in it. (In the COVID-shortened 2021 season, the only tournament-qualifying standards were signing up for it.)

Since then, the Bishops have turned into bonafide state-title contenders. Conners was hired before the 2022 season and Archies proceeded to finish 18-5, losing to Case in the quarterfinals. This spring, the Bishops finished 20-6.

More: FINAL FOUR: South Shore MIAA state semifinal scoreboard

“It’s insane,” Keefe, who will play at UMass-Boston next year, said of the program’s rapid ascent. “Where the program was before, we had the talent, we just didn’t have the drive. We didn’t want it. (Connors) came in and helped us want it. He helped us see what we could do.”

Chenette, a Weymouth resident who will play at Keene State next year, helped the Bishops stay in Wednesday’s game. Case was attempting to build on its 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, threatening with runners on first and second. Leadoff hitter Morgan Smith, who had doubled in her first two at-bats, sent a ball back up the middle. Chenette raced to her left to collect the rolling ball and flipped it quickly out of her glove to second baseman O’Neil (who will play at Suffolk next year) to end the inning and prevent the Cardinals from adding to the lead.

“She’s taken it about as well as I think a high school kid can,” Conners said of Chenette’s defensive-only duties.

That set the stage for the Bishops to tie the game in top of fifth. Keefe won a seven-pitch battle to reach on a two-out single. Alyssa Burke followed with a single off Case pitcher Hailey Berube’s glove. Ondrick then sent a pitch to the opposite-field warning track for a two-RBI double. The freshman showed plenty of composure after Case jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning when a wild pitch and passed ball allowed two runs to come across.

"There was no quit in them and that’s what I was super proud of them for,” said Conners. “Couldn’t be happier and prouder of the girls. Obviously, I wish they could have got that one more game, but like I said to them a second ago, ‘In sports there’s a winner and a loser and you’ve got to learn and grow from it.’”

Keefe, who is hearing-impaired and wears two hearing aids (she said Conners’ vocal strength helps mitigate potential issues), also sparked Archies' first-scoring chance. In the top of the third inning, Candace Sumner singled and advanced on an error. Courtesy runner Ashley Caruso subbed in and advanced on an O’Neil sacrifice bunt. Keefe won a six-pitch battle with an sac fly to get the Bishops on the board as center fielder Smith made a diving catch on the out and nearly tossed Caruso out at home.

“I’m going to get emotional talking about Jess,” said Conners. “She’s just always leading by example. She’s the first one at practice, the last one to leave, picking up equipment.

“She doubted herself and then she bought in. She bought into us, not only as a program, but she bought into herself and started to trust herself and that’s when you could see her get over that wall.”

The Bishops have arrived

Archies has now won five tournament games over the previous two seasons, announcing itself as a contender to watch.

The Bishops' lineup is filled with underclassmen who will return to high expectations next spring. Ondrick is one of the top hitters (Case intentionally walked her the third inning when she represented the tying run) and pitchers in Division 4 (see her 15-strikeout performance in a Sweet 16 win). Burke, a junior, is a dynamic leadoff hitter. Monica Kelley, a sophomore, batted clean-up on Wednesday. Cara McMenamin, a sophomore right fielder, and Sumner, a junior catcher, are also in line to return.

“The future is extremely bright,” said Keefe. “I cannot wait to see what these girls do. I’ll definitely be back to watch them.”

“Right now, I feel like we could play with anybody in the state of Massachusetts,” said Conners.

Although the Bishops will only graduate four players, that group will leave a big hole.

“I think we have the potential to grow even more next year with what we have coming back,” said Conners. “Obviously, it’s going to really hurt to lose our seniors. They’re the heart of this team, they’re the leaders of this team. That’s where we’re going to have replace is leadership.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Archbishop Williams softball falls to Case in state semifinals