A slim loss, a blowout victory, and a lopsided defeat in the first week of the 2016 season last week left the Pinkerton Academy softball team contemplating a 1-2 record.
Coach Kristen Abbott – whose squad played on its own field in all three contests – saw her Astros drop a 4-3 loss to the Merrimack High Lady Tomahawks Wednesday, rebound for a 20-0 pounding of Nashua South the next afternoon, and then suffer a 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the rival Londonderry High last weekend.
In the 4-3 edging at the hands of Merrimack, Pinkerton received strong pitching from Carrie St. Peter, but the defense supporting the hurler ultimately proved porous in the loss.
“Carrie St. Peter pitched a good game, but the defense fell short behind her,” said Abbott. “We made errors in the field that cost the four runs that Merrimack scored.”
Abbott did have praise for several big defensive plays made by her team.
“Makayla Bolduc had a nice diving catch on a fly foul that got us out of an inning. And Maddy Urizandi made a great catch in right (field) to also end an inning for us later in the game,” said the coach.
But everything seemed to go well for the Astros in their trouncing of Nashua South on Thursday, April 14.
The academy bunch tallied four runs in the first inning, five more in the second, 10 in the third, and one in the fourth in putting the 10-run-rule into effect.
The hosts smashed out 24 hits, with Abby Amato knocking four and driving in six runs, Jess Nardozza hit four and drove in four runs, and Nicole Gonya and Sigourney Lavoie each lacing four hits as well.
Pinkerton also received two runs batted in apiece from Lavoie, Caitlin Hogan, Briahna Janulewicz, and Hannah Leonard.
PA pitcher Caroline Mills held the opposition’s hitters to just two hits while her offense simply pounded away at South hurling.
“An all-around solid game,” said Abbott. “Caroline Mills went into the fifth with a perfect game in the works. South ended up getting two hits off of her in the fifth, but she still pitched a shutout.”
Mills ended up striking out nine hitters.
The Lady Astros wound up on the receiving end of a thumping from LHS in Derry on Saturday.
Londonderry plated five runs in the top of the second, three more in the third, two in the fourth, one more in the fifth, and three in the seventh frame en route to its 14-2 victory.
The visitors smacked out 18 hits while the Astros only managed five.
“St. Peter and Mills both pitched well, but Londonderry has hitters throughout the lineup so you can’t keep them off balance long,” said Abbott. “Their hitters found gaps and were able to produce from that.”
Despite the lopsided final score, Abbott had praise for the defensive efforts of second baseman Gonya, catcher Bolduc, and shortstop Amato.
The Astros then saw its record slip to 1-3 with a 6-0 loss to undefeated Salem High on Monday, April 18.
The game was scoreless until the bottom half of the fifth frame when the hosts plated three runs. Salem finished up with 12 hits while PA managed four, with two coming off of the bat of Amato.
Lady Astro Carrie St. Peter rifles a pitch toward home plate during her team’s tough home loss to Londonderry last weekend. Photo by Chris Paul
