By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Just when it looked like the clock might strike midnight on the Cawley Middle School softball team, Ken McKiernan's young ladies made sure their Cinderella season continued.

Following a four-win campaign in 2004, the Hawks improved to 6-1 in '05 with an improbable triumph on their home turf.

On Thursday, May 12, the locals entered the home half of the sixth inning against their out-of-town opponents trailing, 10-3.

In need of a touchdown's worth of runs before their visitors recorded the final six defensive outs, the Hawks rallied to score seven times in the sixth inning before pushing across the game-winner in the home seventh for a thrilling 11-10 victory.

"It's all about confidence with girls at this age," said McKiernan, in his first year coaching the Cawley softball squad. "When they're confident, they're great. When they're not, they don't do as well."

Through 5 1/2 frames, McKiernan's club appeared beaten. But a free pass to sixth-grader Taylor Frazier put the wheels on the CMS comeback wagon in motion.

Drawing walks has been one of the keys to Cawley's success this season, the coach said. Every girl can swing the stick, which was proven by the Hawks' offensive output in crunch time. However, the girls also showed they're aware that walks can do plenty of damage, too.

"They've got pretty good knowledge of the game," McKiernan said of his 15 players. "They really know what's going on."

The team's ability to grasp the basics has allowed McKiernan to spend more time teaching the nuances of the game to his girls.

Incorporating specific situational plays on defense and slightly altering the swings of some players on offense were two softball subtleties the coach has contributed to this highly successful campaign.

Still, McKiernan takes none of the credit for the team's tremendous turnaround. Instead, he gives the recognition to his players, specifically the eighth-grade athletes.

The Hawks are led by eighthgraders Chelsea Auger, co-captain Liz Belanger, Jen Bernsten, Kaitlin Kennedy and co-captain Gabrielle Velasquez.

"I have some great leaders," he said of the team's veteran players. "As a group, they're very strong. And the sixth- and seventh-graders are pretty good as well."

McKiernan's talented group of younger stars is led by seventhgrader Tanya Robidoux, who has the ability to take over games from the pitcher's circle.

Earlier in the season, Robidoux put on a spectacular performance, striking out 14 of a possible 21 batters.

"It doesn't hurt to have her," the coach said, smiling. "She doesn't walk a lot of batters. When she's pitching, you don't think you're gonna give up the big inning too often."

Of course, the young righty's dominance can sometimes be a slight detriment to the team, the coach said.

Since opponents can't consistently make contact against Robidoux, Cawley's fielders are sometimes forced to battle boredom.

To keep everyone on their toes, McKiernan has his girls throw the ball around the horn following a strikeout . an exercise normally reserved for more advanced competition.

Cawley's other key contributors include seventh-graders Mel Bourgeois, Allison Duval, Abby Johnson, Alyssa Nelson, Tanya Robidoux and Becky Walton; and sixth-graders Carly Auger, Frazier, Deven McKiernan and Sarah Velasquez.

"This team expects to win now," McKiernan said. "The girls aren't putting themselves first. They want to win as a team."