Softball Notebook: Salem set national record in championship win over Concord
Salem High School’s gymnasium has hosted campaign rallies for former United States presidents. Fans have celebrated many Blue Devils tournament victories on that basketball court.
For Salem High School junior Madison Solt and senior Madison Burns, it’s always been about 18 specific pieces of Blue Devils’ athletic history hanging on those gym walls that mattered most.
“I’ve grown up in Salem,” Solt said. “I saw all the banners hanging since I was a little kid. I’d see them everyday I walked into the gym as a high schooler. All those titles. We all know from an early age how good the Salem High School softball program is. As a player, it’s a lot to live up to.”
Solt and her Salem teammates lived up to those lofty expectations on June 12 at Rivier College.
The Blue Devils won a national-record 19th softball championship – breaking a tie with Iva Crescent High School of South Carolina – according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Solt struck out eight and scattered four hits against a strong Concord High School offense. The 5-1 Division I final victory gave the Blue Devils their first title since 2016.
Burns was hot with the glove and bat to help secure her spot in Salem softball history. The right fielder made a diving catch to deny a Concord run, but also scored a pair of runs on two hits over the first two innings to help grab a 5-0 lead the Blue Devils would never relinquish.
“This just brings me so much joy,” Burns said. “This is something to be proud of. We’ve all worked so hard. To accomplish what we have, to be a part of the softball program’s amazing history, to win a title, for it to be a national record, and to do it all with some of my best friends means that much more.”
For third-year coach Haley Chandler, it was a year unlike any other in her playing and coaching career.
From her high school (Wakefield, Mass.) and college (Keene State) playing days, through graduate/assistant coaching stints at Keene High School, Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, Mass.) and Merrimack College (North Andover, Mass.), Chandler never experienced a postseason run like this. Coincidentally, in that Merrimack College stop, she worked alongside legendary Salem coach Harold Sachs.
In her first season at Salem, Chandler’s Blue Devils went 13-7 and lost in the 2019 tournament opener. Last season never happened due to COVID-19, but she was expecting big things in year two. Those expectations carried over into 2021 and were realized.
“It was a wild ride,” Chandler said. “I’ve never in all my years experienced something like this. It feels wild to me. This is the furthest I’ve been as a player or coach. It feels amazing, and I’m so proud of my players.
“I can’t say enough about how great they all are as humans, not just players. I’m so proud to be part of the Salem tradition.”
Salem is a relatively young team. Only five seniors, three of those starters, are graduating – Burns, Brie Boucher, Sydney Emerson, and twin sisters Anna and Emma Raymond. This bodes well for Chandler’s 2022 squad.
The Blue Devils return the state-title winning pitcher in Solt, along with some young offensive firepower in freshmen Jen Olson and Addison Lucier (both finishing the season at or above .500 batting average), and sophomore Vania Moniz. In the title game, Olson was 3 for 3 with two runs scored; Lucier had one hit, two stolen bases, a run scored and two RBIs; and Moniz knocked in two of her own.
“Our seniors are incredible players and our younger kids definitely came to play,” Chandler said. “I can’t really put into words how amazed I am at what these girls accomplished.”
Solt was in control in the circle from the first pitch. Despite Concord runners reaching second and third in each of the first two innings, Solt ended both threats with an inning-ending strikeout in the first, and a strikeout followed by an easy fly ball to close the second.
From the third inning on, Solt retired eight straight batters and 15 of the next 17 she faced. Concord’s Elizabeth Blinn spoiled the shutout bid with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
“We walked in confident that no matter the situation or circumstance, we could find a way to come together as a team and win any game we’re in,” Solt said. “We had a lot of trust in each other and it showed in the end. We lived up to what everyone expects from Salem softball.”
Walking through the gymnasium during her senior year will be a little different for Solt. She will now see a 19th championship banner hanging on the wall, representing a national record that she played a major role in procuring for a storied program.
Division II
Oyster River took control from the opening pitch, pounding out five home runs and 21 hits total, on its way to the program’s first championship in a 20-7 victory over Milford at Rivier College in Nashua on June 12.
Two-run doubles by Maggie Sylvester and Maddy Veno, and a two-run home run by Morgan Veno got the Bobcats off and running with a 6-0 lead through a half inning.
Oyster River added seven more runs in the second inning, with Morgan Veno and Gracie Gagne knocking in two each, and a three-run inside-the-park home run courtesy of Ella Cavichi. The Bobcats’ lead improved to 15-0 in the top of the fourth on a Brianna McInnes two-run homer, before Milford put up seven of its own in the bottom half of the inning to close the gap to eight.
It was all the Spartans would score against OR pitcher Carissa Miller. However, the Bobcats’ offense wasn’t done yet.
Madla Walsh would tack on three more with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth, and Maggie Sylvester would add a two-run homer of her own in the top of the sixth to complete the scoring.
Division III
Campbell capped an undefeated season with an 18-6 victory over Hopkinton in the Division III title game at Memorial Field in Concord on June 12. It’s the Cougars first title since 2015.
The Cougars 16-hit parade was led by senior catcher Chloe Steiniger, who finished the day with two home runs (three-run and two-run), a double, sacrifice fly, three runs scored and seven RBIs. Catherine Carignan (two-run homer) and Riley Gamache (three hits) also chipped in offensively for the Cougars.
It was a one-run game through two innings, but Campbell opened things up in the third, pushing across four runs. The Cougars, who had 10 seniors rostered, added two more runs in the fourth and five more in the sixth.
Division IV
Woodsville scored three runs in the first inning and rolled to a 9-1 win over Newmarket in the Division IV title game at Memorial Field in Concord on June 12.
It’s a third title in three trips to the finals for the Engineers, and first since the 2010 and 2013 championships.
