After a 5-1 record in Independent School League (ISL) games, the women’s varsity softball team was determined to see a postseason victory. Throughout the season, the team fought to prove their spot in the league as a strong force among DC-area private schools. After losing last year in the ISL finals to Stone Ridge, their semifinal game against Stone Ridge this year ran high with emotions. Fortunately, GDS came out on top in a triumphant game. After their postseason ISL tournament victories against Holy Child 16 to 1 and Stone Ridge 13 to 5, the team approached the ISL finals against Maret with nervous anticipation, knowing that the championship match could be the game that would either make or break them.
After learning that Maret trounced Bullis in the semifinals, the GDS women’s softball team did not know what to expect in their matchup with Maret in the finals. The game, held at Madeira School, featured a strong and resilient GDS squad. Battling injuries, the GDS softball team showed their grit and went into the final game with the attitude of a strong, healthy squad. Julia Pastreich, a sophomore on the team, said that, before the game, the team was “determined, hopeful, excited and a little bit nervous.”
Maret scored in the first inning, but GDS quickly responded with a run of their own. By the end of the third inning, GDS was winning 4 to 1. The score remained the same until the bottom of the sixth during which GDS scored four runs. Going into the last inning, GDS was up 8 to 1. Junior and team captain Trish Massaro pitched a long at-bat, striking the Maret batter out on her thirteenth pitch. After, sophomore Mimi Koenig caught a flyball in right field, and then Maret hit a linedrive. Abby Perelman, the team’s only senior and a team captain, caught this linedrive and, with two Maret outs, Perelman’s spectacular catch caused GDS to win the game. Anjali Bose, a sophomore on the team who had to sit out of the postseason because of a concussion, described the moment as “really inspiring because Abby does a lot for this team, and we would not be where we were, at the championships, without her, so Abby kind of started our journey to finals and then ended it with a win.”
The victory validated the softball team’s season of hard work, and it cemented the team’s place in history as Georgetown Day School athletic legends. The GDS softball program is growing into a powerhouse; this year was the first of many in which there were enough softball players to field both junior varsity and varsity squads. The team is looking to take the energy from this win and morph it into a future of more successes. Pastreich described the atmosphere after the final game as “incredible. We were all so pumped that we had actually won. It almost felt surreal. I think winning the ISL championship will inspire our team to work even harder and strive to do better, because now we know that we can win,” she continued.
The future is bright for the GDS softball program. Coming out of their championship victory, the team looks to imitate their successes next year.
By Abby Murphy’20