CONCORD – If you were going to pick a game Tide pitcher Maddy Wachter might be slightly less likely to throw a no-hitter, Friday against Spaulding probably would’ve been a smart pick.

Wachter had already pitched a seven-inning, two-hit shutout on Monday and into the 10th inning with 20 strikeouts in Concord’s 2-1 extra-inning loss to Exeter on Wednesday. She had every excuse to not have her best stuff. Yet on Friday night — her senior night — she threw a no-hitter, striking out 16. She carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and officially locked down the no-hitter when fellow senior Sarah Taylor ended the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with an RBI groundout to second to drive home Andie Moreira for the 1-0 win. 

“I couldn’t have done it without that team behind me,” Wachter said. “We played our hearts out on the field, the bats finally came around, which is all that mattered. I couldn’t have done it without that team behind me. They made phenomenal plays.”

After the number of innings she’d already thrown this week, she knew she’d need to dig deep on Friday.

“The whole week for her, Exeter game she did fantastic, we couldn’t give her a run, Monday she pitched seven innings,” head coach Duke Sawyer said. “It’s a lot to ask. She came through. I don’t know how many weeks she can do that.”

After the 2-1 loss to Exeter on Wednesday, the Concord bats continued to be relatively quiet against Spaulding pitcher Maddie Hartman. Still, it was a gritty win, something the Tide (14-2) will need to replicate in the coming weeks as the playoffs draw closer.

“This is the best thing for us. It really is,” Sawyer said of the number of close games. “As long as we win them.”

It was also pretty ideal for him to watch his seniors, particularly Wachter and Taylor, play such a large role in Concord’s win on Senior Night. Between that duo, Delaney Duford, Lily Hackett and Alison Dupuis, this group has had an outsized impact on the program the entire four years they’ve been part of it.

There are still far more challenges ahead — including games against Pinkerton (15-1) and Salem (11-3) next week — but capping off Senior Night with a walk-off win and a no-hitter provided a brief moment, at least, to celebrate the success of this group.

“It was amazing. That was amazing,” Wachter said. “That hit (from Taylor) could not have been more perfectly placed. It was to the right side of the field, so Andie could get home. It was a team effort today which showed the entire way. It was an emotional night because it was Senior Night, but we put that aside and played our best game that we could.”