Woodsville's Griswold holds Newmarket to two hits in Division IV softball championship

PLYMOUTH – When you get to a high school softball state championship game, more often than not you are bound to be involved in a pitcher’s duel.

That was the case when Newmarket’s Kierra Souphakhot and senior Mackenzie Griswold of top-seeded Woodsville locked horns in Saturday night’s Division IV championship game at Chase Field on the campus of Plymouth State University.

Unfortnately for Souphakhot and the third-seeded Mules, Griswold was just a little better.

Griswold retired the first 11 batters of the game, struck out 13 and allowed just two hits as the Engineers won their third championship in the past four years with a 3-0 win over Newmarket. Woodsville’s first title in that stretch was a 9-1 win over the Mules in 2021.

“We were hoping for a better outcome today,” Newmarket head coach Todd Berry said. “We’ll be back next year. We’ll be stronger, and hopefully better.”

Mules will take positives out of season

Newmarket finished the season at 17-3, reaching the championship game for the sixth time in program history, falling to 1-5. The Mules’ lone title came in 2002, a 1-0 win over Gilford. Woodsville.

“With the group that we have, we are relatively young (one senior),” Berry said. “We’re going to gain a lot of valuable experience. We’re going to take the positives out of this. Everyone will grow and learn from this."

Griswold was dominant

Souphahhot broke up Griswold’s perfect game with a two-out single to right center in the fourth. Griswold retired the next eight batters before Souphakhot’s one-out single to right in the seventh. Souphakhot was the only Mule to reach base against Griswold.

“(Griswold) was throwing strikes, getting first-pitch strikes," Berry said. "We just weren’t hitting. She was hitting the corners, and her control was on. We didn’t make her throw many pitches; we didn’t make her work.”

Souphakhot allowed five hits and three runs, striking out 12

Woodsville breaks through with three-run third

The Engineers manufactured three runs on three hits in the third, breaking a scoreless tie.

“They got their timing down, and put the ball in play,” Berry said. “They didn’t scorch any balls, they just found some open spots.”

Sophomore Katie Houston laced a single off Souphakhot’s glove that went into center field. She stole second, and scored on Grace Griswold’s single up the middle. Griswold advanced to second on the throw home, and scored on Jane Roy’s double to left. Roy advanced to third on wild pitch, and scored on another wild pitch, giving Woodsville a 3-0 lead

“The difference when you have two very good pitchers going is timely hits and timely mistakes,” Berry said. "That's what happened tonight."

After Roy’s double, Souphakhot retired the next 10 batters before issuing a two-out walk to Mackenzie Griswold in the sixth. She then struck out Roy to end the inning.

“(Souphakhot) is a warrior,” Berry said. “She’s mentally strong, and she doesn’t give in. It’s very easy for someone to give up those hits, see where we were offensively at the plate and get down on themselves. She didn’t. She had the mental fortitude to continue to battle, and that was evident in the final three innings.”

Mules threaten in seventh

Souphakhot singled to right with one out, advancing to second on an errant throw back from the outfield.

However, Griswold struck out Jaydynn Rajda and Emma Surina to end the game.