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Rutland’s Emily Sunderland is starting to believe in herself at the plate, Heck, the entire Rutland softball team is believing and why not? When they defeated Burr and Burton Academy 16-4 in five innings in the first round of the Division I playoffs, it was their eighth victory in a row.
Sunderland helped to key Rutland’s two big innings. She had a two-run double in the eight-run third inning and another two-RBI double in the seven-run fourth. Both hits were shots into the right-center gap.
“I think it is my confidence in the box,” Sunderland said. “I just smacked it.”
She smacked both of them, lasers into the gap that neither outfielder had a chance to get to.
The first time up, Sunderland struck out, but she went down swinging.
“They need to get the bat on the ball. When they take called third strikes, I get mad,” said Rutland assistant coach Carolyn Laird.
The game did not have the look of a walk in the park for RHS when the Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead by scoring three in the top of the third. Tela Dykes and Bailey Gilliam led off the inning with solid base hits. Gilliam’s hit scored Dykes and Livingston drove in Gilliam.
But the bottom of the third changed everything as Rutland erupted for eight runs on five hits including Sunderland’s two-run double and Sierra McDermott’s triple.
“Sierra hit a shot. I told her that a lot of teams take the No. 9 hitter for granted,” Rutland coach Dick Wright said.
Then, the big seventh frame put the game out of reach.
Rutland sprayed 10 hits around Northeast Field with Kayla Stevens, Alivia Morris, Cassidy Langlois and Sunderland leading the way with multiple-hit games.
Gilliam led the Bulldogs with two hits.
Kayla Olszewski pitched the complete-game victory and she has been in a groove during this winning streak. She allowed seven hits and struck out nine over the five innings.
Her only hiccup was that third inning when she gave up three runs on three hits and issued a walk.
“Kayla has found that change-up,” Wright said.
She got a few of her strikeouts on that pitch.
“The thing about her change-up, I think, is what it does for her on the next pitch. It gives the ball the illusion of being faster,” Wright said.
When BBA took that 3-1 lead, the game was looking eerily similar to the one in Manchester when the Bulldogs took a 4-1 lead into the seventh only to see Rutland rally for a 7-4 victory.
“We told the girls then that they had to take ownership. It couldn’t be just up to the coaches,” Wright said.
That is why the cry ‘Ownership’ was heard in the dugout heading into the bottom of the third.
Then came those eight runs. That’s ownership.
BBA has been a doormat in the Southern Vermont League but that began to change this year as the Bulldogs became competitive. They put together a 7-9 record.
“We are putting in the time,” BBA coach Nancy Sheldon said. “A lot of our players are finally playing on travel teams in the summer and some of our eighth graders are playing in the summer. They are seeing a lot of softball.”
Rutland raised its record to 11-6 and heads to Bennington on Friday for a stern test against No. 2 Mount Anthony, a team that is 13-2 and did not lose a game to a Vermont team this season.
“You have a chance,” Sheldon told Wright after the game.
The second meeting of the year against MAU, Rutland played well and lost 6-1.
“We are playing together as a team and we are all friends,” Sunderland said.
Sunderland, a junior, played on RHS field hockey and ice hockey teams that did not get to experience a lot of winning.
Ah, the other side of sports. Eight victories in a row has been a lot of fun.
