Home runs happen in high school baseball and softball, but there’s only the one that’s the first to clear a new fence.
That happened for Bristol Central softball on Saturday against Lewis Mills, when Gwen Torreso launched a ball over the fence at Bristol Central High School. Torreso finished the 6-3 win with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI.
“A little more than two years after putting up a fence on our home field, we’ve finally hit one OVER it, courtesy of Gwen Torreso!” read a tweet on the Bristol Central softball Twitter account.
A home run over a fence may not seem like a big deal, but here’s some history with regard to Bristol Central’s softball field. Before the fence was put up, right field extended as far the eye could see. There was no fence in right field, so whomever hit the ball deep to that part of the field had to run as far as she could before the ball was thrown back in. The left field “fence” was the one that went around the adjacent outdoor track. That fence was pretty far away from the plate.
With the fence, outfielders no longer have to chase balls that roll forever on open grass, and hitters don’t have to run out a ball that was hit a long way. Instead, hitters can just jog around the bases after hitting one over the fence. Gwen Torreso did so Saturday, and she is forever the first Ram to do it.
Photo credit: Bristol Central softball Twitter account
