Fri, May 18, 2018
04:00 PM @
Pentucket
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Final |
| North Andover |
0 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
9 |
21 |
| Pentucket |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
North Andover cruises past Pentucket
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Friday, May, 18
By Jeff Hamrick
Staff writer
WEST NEWBURY — In a game which the mercy rule never became official, the end did come mercifully when 'Uncle' was cried.
Leading 12-1, North Andover went to bat in the top of the sixth needing a run for the 12-run rule to take effect. Twelve batters and nine runs later, Pentucket hadn't yet recorded an out when Sachems coach John Walsh tapped out.
"No," North Andover coach Caitlin Flanagan succinctly replied when asked if she had ever seen that kind of situation. "A program like (Walsh's) is struggling for numbers, and with a large team he tried to put in some kids that hadn't seen some time. They're not used to being out there and couldn't make the outs. But it's experience for them, so I think that's OK."
Already having qualified for the postseason, Pentucket (10-6) had won seven of its previous nine, averaging 9.7 runs in the victories.
"We're mostly seniors, but they didn't show up to play today," Walsh said. "We have to get back to where we were. Back to hitting and fielding. It didn't happen today. It's like this every year — peaks and valleys."
North Andover (9-4) pounded out 22 hits and batted around in the second and sixth while sending eight to the plate in the fifth and seven in the third. It was a far different output than the 18 runs the Knights had scored in their previous seven games combined. They scored two or fewer in four of those seven.
"I was happy with the swings they took today," Flanagan said. "Sometimes when pitching is at a little slower speed you can ... pop up, but I thought they kept their weight back and hit a lot of line drives. It's hard to defend that."
Designated player Morgan Reitano had a big afternoon, doubling home two runs in the second, slamming a two-run homer in the fifth and adding an RBI single in the sixth. She was one of four Knights to score three times.
"It's been rough (at the plate)," Reitano said. "So, this definitely helps. All the practicing on my hitting definitely has helped. We have made so much progress since last year (when the Knights were 8-12).
"It's like a completely different team. We're all way closer, and we're all just making good contact. We're doing everything we didn't do last year."
Of the 12 Knights that made plate appearances, 11 had at least one hit while Alyssa Roderick, Olivia Rondeau, Carley Howe and No. 9 hitter Sophie Mitchell clubbed three apiece. Howe drove in four and had one of North Andover's five doubles. Pinch-hitter Claudia Mabley rapped two hits in the sixth, including a lead-off triple and scored three times. Mitchell also had two of the team's eight hits in the fateful inning.
Starter Samantha Alhom went three innings for the win, allowing an unearned run in the third. Julia Chittick went the final three frames for North Andover, which began a stretch of five games in seven days.
Game Statistics:
North Andover (21): Haley Gove rf 4-1-1, Allison Sgrosso ph 1-1-1, Alyssa Roderick 3b 4-3-3, Olivia Rondeau 2b 4-2-3, Carley Howe ss 5-3-3, Morgan Reitano dp 5-2-3, Jordyn Apperti cf 0-0-0, Devin McElhiney 1b 4-1-0, Talia Brown lf 2-1-1, Claudia Mabley cr/ph 2-3-2, Samantha Alhom p 3-0-1, Julia Chittick p 2-1-1, Sophie Mitchell c 5-3-3. Totals 39-21-22
Pentucket (1): Fiona Hill cf 3-0-1, Autumn West 3b 3-0-0, Maddie Codair 1b 2-0-0, Megan McCoy c 2-0-0, Genna Dags rf 2-0-0, Taylor Fitz lf 2-0-1, Caitlyn Kutcher ss 2-0-0, Hailey Glemons 2b 1-0-0, Sara Sargent dp 2-0-2, Emily Giampa cr 0-1-0. Totals 19-1-4
RBI: NA — Reitano 5, Howe 4, Roderick 2, Mitchell 2, Gove, Sgrosso, Rondeau, McElhiney, Mabley, Chittick
WP: Alholm; LP: Maddie Gatchell
