Despite the loss, Ryan was strong — especially after the first inning — in the circle

AMHERST – After three innings of Saturday’s MIAA Division 2 State Championship game between Tewksbury and Westfield at UMass Amherst’s Sortino Field, it appeared that it was just not going to be Sam Ryan’s day. The junior pitcher for Tewksbury, who had been outstanding all season long in helping to lead the Redmen to the MVC championship and the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament, had struggled through the first three frames as the Redmen had fallen into a 3-0 hole with Westfield scoring one run in each inning.

Granted not all of it had been her fault, as the second inning run had been unearned, but she had given up a walk and an RBI double in the first inning and a triple and an RBI single in the third. It was anything but a typical Ryan performance at that point. But that would soon change, as the talented southpaw was dominant the rest of the way, retiring eight in a row at one point and setting down 12 of the final 13 batters she faced.

Unfortunately, it was not enough for the Redmen, who came up short in a 3-1 defeat to Westfield, but for anyone who was watching it was a great reminder of just what Ryan, along with fellow pitcher, sophomore, Whitney Gigante, have meant to the team’s success this season.

Ryan would have of course preferred to have won the game and gone home as a state champion. But she was proud of the way she and her team, who struggled defensively in the early going, bounced back in the later innings to play their style of softball, despite coming up just a little short.

“Usually, I settle down after the first inning anyway, but I just knew I had to get the job done and do what I needed to do to have my teammates backs, just like they always have mine,” Ryan said. “I think everyone was a little nervous at first, but then I think we all realized that it I just a softball game and we started to play much better, more like the way we have all season.”

Ryan would finish with nine strikeouts on the day, allowing five hits, two earned runs and two walks over seven innings of work. She also got came up big when the Redmen needed her most, including in the second inning, when after Westfield had extended their lead to 2-0 on a pair of errors, they had a chance to do much more damage with runners on first and second and nobody out. But Ryan was having none of that, striking out the final two batters of the inning to keep things close.

“She got big strikeouts for us when we needed it. She pitched very well,” Tewksbury coach Brittney Souza said of Ryan. “They had some very good hitters that we had to be very smart with and she did a great job with that. Her changeup was working really well today, so it really helped us.”

And while she may have struggled early on, Ryan never got rattled. For some pitchers, between some shaky defense behind her and not having her best stuff early on, not to mention what was at stake in a state championship game, that 3-0 deficit could have turned into something much worse. But that was not the case with Ryan in the circle.

“She was laser focused. She was ready and wanting the signs from me. She likes to work fast,” Souza said. “She held us in there. I really wish that we had won it for her, but she battled to the end.”

After coming up just a little short of the state championship this season, one year after losing in the North Sectional finals last season, Ryan is looking forward to her and her teammates finishing the job next season.

“It was an amazing season. I mean, last year losing in the North finals was tough, and this where we wanted to make it this season,” Ryan said. “We have a lot of our girls coming back, so I feel like we are going to be just as strong next year. This experience will definitely help us. It was a big confidence booster knowing that we know how to play as a team. Everyone has each other’s backs at all times, so this was just an amazing opportunity and we want to get back here.”