BOW — Taking over a program with eight incoming freshmen sounded daunting to Cassidy Emerson as she geared up for her first season as the new Bow softball head coach. After Friday’s 9-0 win over Pelham (3-5), though, the Falcons are now 8-1, right near the top of the Division II standings. Suffice to say, things have gone even better than the most optimistic person could’ve anticipated.

Several freshmen had their fingerprints all over Friday’s victory. 

Taylor Ouellette was brilliant in the circle, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning. She wound up tossing a complete-game shutout, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out 13. At the plate, Raegan Wyman was 2-for-4 with five RBI and Maddy Oppold was 2-for-5 with two doubles. It’s a theme that’s been prevalent all season for the Falcons.

Particularly for Ouellette, who bounced back from a rough outing against John Stark on Wednesday, the performance demonstrated a level of maturity not often found in a first-year varsity player.

“The thing with Taylor is she’s just so composed,” Emerson said. “She goes out there. She does her job. She’s a freshman pitching for a varsity-level team that’s playing really well right now. The pressure’s on her, and you wouldn’t know it. Every single day, she shows up and just does her job. … I think she’s very relaxed, and she’s humble, and she’s doing a great job.”

The offense has also been a major positive for Bow all season, now averaging nearly 10 runs per game. Starting off games fast has been key, like on Friday when the Falcons plated three runs in the first inning.

“I feel we’re doing a great job getting runs early on, and I think right now in the first nine games, that has been our success,” Emerson said. “Our first couple hitters do their job. They get on base, and then they hit each other around. If someone’s in a slump, the next one picks them up.”

They’ll need that trend to continue, as the Falcons stare down high-profile matchups with Kingswood (7-1) and Coe-Brown (9-1) over the next couple weeks.

There’s still a long road ahead for Bow to reach Emerson’s goal of a final four, but so far, the newcomers and returners have meshed seamlessly, vaulting the Falcons near the top of the standings.

“Having eight freshmen is hard. These returners, having this huge group of newcomers come in is tough, and we’re still working on a lot of things, but we’re balancing each other well,” Emerson said. “Right now, what’s impressed me the most is we’re flexible. My lineup is not the same every game. Sometimes girls play, and they’re on the bench the next game. Sometimes they’re at third, sometimes they’re at second — the flexibility is what, I think, right now makes us 8-1.”