TMHS Softball Team Storms Wilmington, 15-1

When the skies opened up, heavy rain started falling and a clap of thunder was heard after six innings at Memorial Field on Thursday, it was almost as if Mother Nature was invoking a mercy rule.

The red hot was already leading by 14 runs, and it wasn't getting any prettier. The umpires called  a halt to the game an inning early, and Tewksbury walked away with a 15-1 victory over Wilmington on Thursday.

The Redmen, who have scored 26 runs in two games after getting shut out in Chelmsford on Monday, jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back.

"We went right to the small ball and they couldn't handle it," said TMHS

TMHS got most of its run production from the bottom part of the order. Senior pitcher Kayla Benvenuto, batting eighth, banged out three hits (including a double)  for the second straight day, and knocked in four runs. Benvenuto has seven RBI in the last two games alone.

Sophomore right fielder Sam Laferriere, hitting in the No. 9 spot, also collected three hits for the second straight day, and drove in two runs.

Junior third baseman Katie Doherty, hitting sixth,  reached base all four times she batted, collecting three hits and a walk, driving in three runs and scoring twice.

Sophomore first baseman Missy Cordwell (seventh) reached base three times, scored twice and had one hit.

"We got an awful lot of production out of the bottom of our order, which was nice to see," DiRocco said. "The bottom four hitters drove in 10 runs between them."

The top of the order did fine, too. Senior lead-off hitter Ally Greene had two hits and scored twice, while No. 2 hitter Brooke Hardy had two hits and scored a run. Catcher Lauren Texeira had a hit and a run batted in while junior center fielder Sherri Liggiero had two doubles and two RBI.

The Tewksbury hitters finished the day with a season-high 17 hits.

Benvenuto pitched five innings of two-hit softball, allowing just one run in picking up her seventh win of the season. She struck out five and walked four before giving way to freshman reliever Shannon McLaughlin in the sixth. McLaughlin retired the side in order in the final inning.

Defensively, Doherty and Hardy played well in the infield, while Liggiero had six put-outs in center.

"The wind was blowing in and holding the ball up so Sherri had to make some tough running catches," DiRocco said. "She can really track a ball."

Tewksbury, now 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Merrimack Valley Conference, plays at Triton Saturday morning.