NRHS battle-tested after several close losses

At the start of the season, Nipmuc head softball coach Stephanie DeBaggis predicted her team would finish around .500 and play a lot of close games - that is exactly how the season turned out.

“The girls had such great success last year, and most of them are young so they might have thought it was going to be a little bit easier.” DeBaggis said. “I had to reinforce to them that we are in a new league and we also searched for a lot of difficult opponents.”

She added, “We wanted to see better teams and better pitching, that was our big goal.”

Nipmuc lost seven games this spring by either one or two runs, strengthening the notion they can compete with anybody. The team played in a brand new league after previously competing in the Dual Valley Conference (DVC) and DeBaggis said they have benefitted from having a tougher schedule.

“When you play some powerhouses and lose 1-0, 3-2, or 3-1, those are still successes,” DeBaggis said.

Several players put together standout campaigns. Senior Savannah Carr and sophomore Charlotte Leitch handled most of the pitching duties and both of them turned in stellar performances throughout the spring.

Senior Kira DeBaggis finished the regular season batting over .400 and approaching 100 career hits. She hit six home runs, and led the team in RBIs. Carr also hit well over .300, as did fellow senior Sierra Lopes. The trio did well to step up after Nipmuc graduated three seniors from a team that put together a long playoff run last year.

“My three seniors this year never had to be in charge before, but they figured it out,” DeBaggis said. 

In addition to the seniors, sophomore Teagan Bykowski has stepped up behind the plate, her coach said.

DeBaggis said that Nipmuc started the year with the goal of being in every game and not letting mistakes disrupt their focus. She said they have done well to achieve those objectives, even if it meant a few more losses.

“As fun as the DVC was, we had an inflated record at times because some of the teams were not as strong,” DeBaggis said, adding that this year has still been enjoyable.

“They are having a good time, my team really loves each other,” she said. “There are only 12 of us, and they do a good job picking one another up.”