Sports
Tewksbury Squeezes by MHS Softball Team
A late rally fell just short Monday afternoon and Marblehead was eliminated by the Lady Redmen, 5-3.
Marblehead High School's softball team had their playoff run derailed in Tewksbury Monday afternoon. The Lady Redmen built a 5-1 lead and held off a late Header rally, winning 5-3 to advance to the Div. II North quarterfinals.
Marblehead got on the board early, pushing a run across in the top of the first. Olivia Vener scored the first run of the game to put Marblehead ahead 1-0, after walking with one out.
Tewksbury came right back with three of their own in the bottom of the first, Ally Greene, Tiffanie Marsh and Sheri Liggiero scored to put the home team up 3-1 after one.
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Runs were hard to come by after the first inning, Marblehead freshman Michaela LeBlanc and Tewksbury senior Kayla Benvenuto both got stingy on the mound.
“Michaela pitched great for us,” Marblehead coach Johnny Gold said. “She’s been good in all three tournament games (wins over Triton and Amesbury) and she hasn’t walked a batter in the post-season.”
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Marblehead had a tough time getting base runners before they broke out in the top of the seventh, Benvenuto putting the Headers down 1-2-3 in the second, third, and fourth innings.
Marblehead finally got a runner on base in the top of the fifth, when eighth grader Julie Lothrop walked with one out. Lothrop, who was pinch-hitting for co-captain Sarah Hastings, was thrown out by Tewksbury catcher Lauren Teixeira trying to steal second, ending the fifth inning.
Tewksbury pushed another run across in their half of the sixth, Teixeira drove in Hardy to make it 4-1 after five innings.
Marblehead tried to cut into the lead again in the sixth; Kathryn DiGiammarino singled to left with one out and promptly stole second. Olivia Vener hit a shot to shortstop, got thrown out at first, Tewksbury’s Melissa Cordwell fired the ball across the diamond to get DiGiammarino trying to go to third for the final out.
Benvenuto singled to start the Tewksbury sixth, coming home when pinch-hitter Chelsee Porcaro stroked a triple to right-center. The Headers avoided more damage when DiGiammarino threw a strike to Carly Score at the plate and she tagged out Porcaro preventing another Tewksbury run.
Facing their final three outs of the 2011 season, the Magicians went down swinging, putting a scare into the eighth seed.
Lucia Chalek singled to start the inning, went to second when pinch-hitter McKenna Barrett ripped one under the first baseman’s glove, bringing Score to the plate with no outs.
Score walked to load the bases for Alexa Gross. Gross flied out to center field, too shallow for Chalek to tag up. Lothrop came up with one out and the bases loaded and she crushed a shot over the third base bag, knocking in Chalek and Barrett.
Emmy York reached on an infield single and the bases were loaded again, with Marblehead behind 5-3. Rachel McKay hit a sinking line drive into center that Tewksbury turned into a double play and the season was over.
Marblehead finishes up at 14-11, knocking out the 16th seed and the number one seed along the way.
“We had a good season, we played hard right up until the end,” Gold said. “I’m very proud of all the girls on this team.”
“They made it tough on us, for sure,” Tewksbury coach Leo “Doc” DiRocco said. “They’re a young team, and they’ll be back again, they played very well against us today."
