May 2, 2025
• Softball picked up their fourth straight win, while girls lacrosse stumbled.
Needham softball bested Newton North 3-0 on Monday, April 28, behind a strong performance in the circle from first-year pitcher Audrey Muzikant.
Muzikant pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits, walking one batter, and recording nine strikeouts against a Tiger lineup averaging 13 runs per game to give the Rockets their fourth consecutive win.
Needham wasted no time, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead from a lead-off homerun from Kaitlyn Cheng. Olivia Kirschner got on base shortly after and was eventually brought home on a sacrifice fly from Kelsey Pittman to double the Rockets’ lead.
Muzikant retired the first 13 batters for Newton North in order before walking Paige Elman. Ashlyn Baugher hit a single for the Tigers to put runners on the corners, but Muzikant recovered, striking out home run threat Lizzie Marini and inducing a pop-out to right field to end the fifth inning.
The Rockets added a run in the fifth inning off an RBI single from Morgan Kraft to extend their lead to 3-0.
Newton North threatened again with two base runners at the bottom of the sixth inning but could not capitalize. Muzikant worked quickly in the seventh, fanning two more batters. But, the defensive highlight of the inning came from Maricel Pucillo, who made a big sliding catch in the outfield for the second out to keep the Tigers off the bases.
Kirschner had an impressive day offensively, tallying a single, two runs, two stolen bases, and two walks. She was the only Rocket to reach base multiple times.
Needham went on to win their next two games, defeating Wellesley and Brookline on the road, extending their win streak to six games. They will be back on the road next week before returning home to host Lexington on Friday, May 9.
The following day, girls lacrosse fell 15-5 to a tough Newton North team for their third loss of the season.
After taking a 2-1 lead halfway through the first quarter, the Rockets gave up 12 unanswered goals before finally finding the back of the net again late in the third quarter. That scoring drought, which lasted 29 minutes, allowed the Tigers to take a commanding 13-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
Senior captains Sophia Meade and Sami Bonasia scored the two opening-quarter goals for the Rockets, and Needham dominated on draws, controlling six to the Tigers’ two. But the Rockets never found their footing offensively, as Newton North forced turnovers and converted them into goals to take a 5-2 lead. The second quarter was similar for the Rockets; they could not capitalize on their opportunities and gave up four more goals to trail 9-2 at halftime.
After Newton North added four more goals in the third, Needham ended their scoring drought with 23 seconds left in the quarter off a goal from Lila Jantzen. The Rockets kept fighting despite being down 10 in the fourth, netting two more goals, one from Addie Stedman and one from Frankie Adams, to make the final score 15-5.
The Rockets dropped their next game on the road at Wellesley for their first two-game losing streak this season. They will host Foxboro on Saturday, May 3, at 4 p.m.
Sports anchors Ben Gilman and Mike Levin have the highlights from these games below:
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The highlights above ran as part of the Needham Channel News, a weekly newscast airing on The Needham Channel every Thursday at 7:30pm. The Needham Channel News can be found on the Community Channel: Comcast 9, Astound 15 and Verizon 29. Most Thursdays it also can be viewed on our HD Channel on Verizon 2129, Astound 613 and streaming on this site. |
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