Softballers Will Host Wilmington In State Tournament

There's an old theory in sports that it's difficult to beat a team three times in one season, but the will certainly have the numbers on their side when they host Wilmington in the opening round of the MIAA Division 2 North Sectional Tournament Thursday afternoon at Memorial Field.

The Redmen squared off against their next door neighbors twice this spring, and topping them 10-5 in a rain-shortened game in Wilmington on May 7.

"They say it's tough to beat a team three times, but we've definitely been able to put some runs on the board against Wilmington in the past, so I like our draw," "Any time you can get a home game in the state tournament, you gotta like your draw."

Wilmington plays in the Cape Ann League, and the Wildcats finished third in the CAL's Division 1 with a 10-4 league record and a 13-7 overall record, earning the No. 9 seed in Division 2 North.

Tewksbury also plays in Division 1 in its league, the Merrimack Valley Conference, which is a noted softball stronghold.

"I think playing the Division 1 (in the MVC) gives us a little bit of an advantage because we see a lot of real good pitching," DiRocco said. "For the most part, the pitching is better in Division 1, but softball is funny. Sometimes a lot of the better teams (in the state tournament) come from Division 2."

But having scored double digit runs against Wilmington twice this year, DiRocco is confident that his team has an offensive advantage.

"If we're focused, we can score a lot of runs," DiRocco said. "We've got some good hitters up and down our line-up."

, who leads off for the Redmen, is leading the team in hitting with a .476 average. Freshman second baseman Brooke Hardy is hitting .419 out of the two spot and No. 3 hitter Tiffanie Marsh is hitting .442.

(.400) and junior outfielder Sherri Liggiero (.421) are also tearing the cover off the ball.

If anything, it will be the outside distractions that concern DiRocco this week.

"It's tough when the state tournament falls right in the middle of senior week," DiRocco said. "We're trying to keep them focused on softball, not the prom and all the other things they've got going on. It's an exciting time for them."

Tewksbury, however, starts only two seniors in Greene and Benvenuto. In spite of the fact that his team is a perennial fixture in the MIAA tournament, DiRocco will put a line-up on the field Thursday that will feature only three players -- Greene, Liggiero and Marsh -- who have previous state tournament experience.

"We graduated a lot of good players last year, so as far as the tournament goes, most of these kids will be playing in it for the first time," DiRocco said.

It's not like the Redmen don't have the credentials, however, as seven out of their nine starters earned MVC all-star or all-conference honors earlier this week. Greene, Liggiero and Benvenuto were named to the all-conference team while Hardy, Marsh, junior catcher Lauren Texeira and sophomore first baseman Missy Cordwell earned MVC all-star honors.

"If we're focused and play the way we're capable of, we should be all right," DiRocco said. "I just want us to get into it and have a couple of nice games, and once they realize we can win at this level, I don't fear anybody."

Game time is 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Field at the Livingston Street Park.