Hopkins’ Lily Ellia achieves 100th career hit in loss to Frontier

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Six years ago, seventh grader Lily Ellia suited up for her first varsity softball game with Hopkins against Frontier on the road, nervous for what her future would hold.

Fast forward to the present day, Ellia found herself back at the same field where her high school career began, just one hit away from the 100th of her career.

After a groundout in her first at-bat in the first inning, the senior’s next opportunity came in the fourth. She stepped into the left-handed batter’s box, taking a deep breath.

Ellia found a pitch to drive, sending a hard line drive down the first base line. As she rounded first base, the Golden Hawks dugout erupted in cheers for their teammate, in jubilation despite facing a large deficit on the scoreboard.

Once play was stopped, Ellia was engulfed by her teammates, celebrating the impressive milestone being broken.

“It was just a relief,” Ellia said. “I mean, it’s been a goal for such a long time, and it was just nice to have it done with; now I can focus on my team… All the work that’s gone into it, it was nice to have it on [Frontier’s] field.”

“It’s amazing to have a player like [Ellia],” Hopkins head coach Paula Cristoforo said. “… She’s just a wonderful player, a great athlete and just a great teammate.”

Despite the positivity surrounding Ellia’s milestone-breaking night, the Redhawks were victorious in Tuesday’s contest, winning 13-6.

Frontier’s success came in large part due to some great patience at the plate, putting together solid at-bats throughout the night. Finishing the game with 14 walks, the Redhawks kept the pressure on, with runners consistently on the basepaths.

“I’d rather hit the ball, but we are a good team in terms of not swinging at junk,” Frontier head coach Garrett Deane said. “We are patient… In our last game, in our scrimmage and we can see it during practices. So, yeah, that’s a good that’s a good positive.”

Skyler Steele led the way for the RedHawks offensively, finishing the game 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. The junior’s homer came in the bottom of the fourth inning, crushing a ball over the fence in left-center field.

On the defensive side, Steele also put together an impressive performance. The shortstop made the routine plays she faced throughout the game, along with some flashes along the way.

In the top of the fifth inning, a hard line drive was hit over Steele’s head. She leapt off the infield dirt, fully extending her arm straight up into the air and stabbing the ball out of the sky for an out.

“[Steele’s] a human highlight reel,” Deane said. “We’re lucky to have her. That kid does amazing things all the time… That line drive, catch, that was something I don’t know if the cameras got a good angle at it, but that was dynamite.”

Alayna Bailey led the Golden Hawks with a pair of RBIs on a 2-for-4 performance from the plate in the loss, adding on a homer of her own.

Down 10-0 in the fourth inning, Hopkins desperately needed some offense with the senior climbing into the box after Ellia’s double. She turned on a pitch, depositing it over the wall in left center for the team’s first runs of the night.

Even with the large deficit on the scoreboard, the Golden Hawks continued to battle on Tuesday, scoring four runs in the sixth before being shut out in the seventh.

“In our first game, we had a similar situation,” Cristoforo said. “… This team has proven that they really are fighters on the field and that they’re going to go after every game, whether they’re ahead or whether they’re behind, they’re going to keep up that fight.”

Raine Wonsey did well to limit scoring from the circle for Frontier in its victory, throwing six innings with over 100 pitches. Lexi Hawkins came in to shut things down for the final inning, not allowing a single baserunner.

With the win, the Redhawks improve to 2-0 on the season, with another opportunity to add to the win column on Wednesday, April 1, at 4:30 p.m. at home against East Longmeadow.

“Obviously, we’re just getting started, but just going back with what we know, and just continuing to work; we’ve got to continue to work,” Deane said. “… We’ve got most people in their positions, but we’re still fine-tuning.”

Now 1-1 to begin the year, Hopkins will look to bounce back on Friday, April 3, at 4 p.m., when it takes on Greenfield at home.