The play was one you would expect to see on the softball field from Marika Thompson.
Marika Thompson has been the Warriors' starting catcher since her freshman year.
In a game earlier this season against Pittsfield, the Wilton-Lyndeborough senior popped the ball up just beyond the infield, closer to first base, but far enough away that both infielders on that side had a play on the ball.
But neither made one. Instead, the ball dropped between them, as both had their backs to the infield. When they both took their time getting the ball, Thompson quickly moved for second.
When someone yelled for her to get back, Thompson slammed on the breaks and went down to the dirt halfway to second base.
“I thought the girl was going to throw it when I slipped in between first and second,” she said. “I was like ‘Oh no, I’m out, I’m so out.’ And then I heard my coach say ‘Go, go, go,’ so I got up and ran.”
The throw to second went into left field. With Thompson rounding third, the throw back to the infield went past the pitcher and rolled into the grass beyond the first base line.
“As I’m on second, I saw it rolling past the pitcher, so I had to go to third,” Thompson said. “I don’t even know what happened from there.”
With no one covering third base, the ball went back into left field and Thompson went home.
“I knew I had to go home,” she said. “I didn’t know where the ball was, but I’m sliding on this play. I can’t get out, that would be horrible.”
Thompson knows the horrors that can come with being two aggressive on the base paths.
As a freshman in 2007, Thompson started at catcher as the Warriors reached their third consecutive Class S championship game. With WLC down 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Thompson made an out when she was caught too far off third base. Her teammates picked her up, and the Warriors went on to win 3-1, the first of two straight championships.
While the play against Pittsfield is an example of how Thompson plays, she hasn’t forgotten what happened in the title game. But instead of dwelling on it, she’s turned it into a positive for herself.
“That was really hard for me because the seniors there, every senior wants to win a championship,” she said. “I almost ruined it. Be aggressive, but you have to be careful.”
Growing up with four older brothers, Thompson began playing baseball at a young age before switching to softball at the age of 10. Although she’s played competitive basketball just as long, softball has been the focus.
Marika Thompson takes a swing during a game earlier this season.
“Softball has been my sport for so long,” she said. “I play all year round. That’s been my life since I was 10.”
Thompson added soccer when she was in eighth grade, and has started in goal for WLC for the last three seasons. She’s started for the basketball team as well, but the main focus has been softball.
“She’s been playing all four years and she’s a great ball player,” Warriors coach Denny Claire said. “She can hit it and she’s fast. Solid catcher and has a great arm. She’s fast on the bases.
“She could play for most any team in Class L. I’ve seen all of them, and she can play with them.”
Before battling an illness at the end of last season, Thompson was hitting the ball well enough that Claire admits he “didn’t want to be at third base.” This year, as she’s worked to return to that level at the plate, Thompson has noticed difference to the game in the field.
“We have a lot of younger players,” she said. “It’s a lot different. Last year, I had Jess (Broderick) and Gabby (Trombley) and Jill (Jowders) and Kelly (Jean). They were there to help me lead the team. This year, it’s a little bit harder because I have all the younger girls with me.
“It’s a lot harder than it was last year because I have to make sure I know where the ball is going or who I’ve got to throw it to. I don’t have as much helps as I did last year with Jess and Gabby, where I’m going to throw it down and they know it’s coming But I think they’ll learn quickly.”
After this year, Thompson plans to continuing playing softball at Hood College, a Division III school in Frederick, Md., that competes in the Capital Athletic Conference. And if she can balance two sports and academics, basketball might also be on the agenda.
“Softball is my biggest focus,” Thomspon said. “I’m going to play basketball in college. If it comes down to where I have to choose, it’s definitely softball.”
The Warriors have started the season 4-0 in Class S and will play a non-division game against Mascenic on Wednesday.