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Sports

Former Stoughton High Softball Standout Flirts with Perfection at WPI

Stoughton's Erin Flaherty, a senior at WPI, came within one pitch of pitching a perfect game for the WPI softball team.

Stoughton’s Erin Flaherty flirted with perfection on March 30 and as a result was named the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference’s (NEWMAC) softball pitcher of the week.

Flaherty, a senior at WPI, came within one pitch of tossing a perfect game, as her Engineers won the backend of a doubleheader at Clark University, 7-0, last Friday.

Flaherty, who already has one no-hitter in her career, was dazzling, retiring the first 20 batters she faced, including eight via the strikeout.

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But, with two outs in the final inning, the bottom of the seventh, Clark’s Erin Murphy spoiled Flaherty’s bid at perfection, sending a 2-0 offering to the left centerfield gap.  Flaherty rebounded, ending the game on the next pitch, inducing a groundout.

Flaherty pitched the next day at home against Coast Guard, scattering five hits over seven innings of work and allowing just one earned run in a 4-2 WPI win on March 31.

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This marks the first weekly award from the NEWMAC conference for Flaherty, who was named to the league's All-Academic squad in 2010 and 2011. 

So far this season, Flaherty is 6-1 with a save and a 2.25 earned run average (ERA) for a 14-8 WPI squad. 

Flaherty is a 2008 graduate at Stoughton High and was a standout softball player for the Black Knights as well.

Portions of a press release from WPI and Clark University were used in this article.

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