RallyNorth.net

HAVERHILL — Those two days of rain earlier in the week may have given Amesbury the edge it needed Wednesday afternoon in the Division 3 North quarterfinal matchup against Whittier.

Senior Madison Schaefer fired a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and No. 3 Newton North downed No. 6 Methuen, 4-1, in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

Junior Kelsie McGonagle did her job in defeat. She scattered seven hits and all four runs were unearned. She also snared a couple of hard-hit liners.

Haverhill dropped its quarterfinal softball matchup at Billerica, 9-2, but head coach Kara Melillo was upbeat about the season.

"I'm proud of this team," said Melillo, whose club finished 13-9. "Our tournament win (against Lynn Classical) was the first in 22 years."

The Haverhill softball team jumped out in front early, taking a 5-0 lead after the second inning, and pitcher Bryana Michitson took care of things from there, going the distance to help the Hillies beat Lynn Classical 6-1 in the Division 1 North First Round. 

Pinkerton's softball team held a 4-0 lead after five innings but Spaulding scored twice in the sixth and four times in the bottom of the seventh to grab a frustrating 6-4 victory in the Division 1 quarterfinals. Caitlin Hogan was 3 for 4 and scored twice for the Astros (14-6). 

In a game that could have gone either way, Pelham fell to Pembroke 4-3 in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Sarah Ratcliffe had a two-run single for the Pythons, who finished with a 14-4 record.

Olivia Beauchesne doubled in Kayle Hobbs with the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh to lift Whittier to a 2-1 victory over Essex Tech in the first round of the Division 3 tournament.

Methuen softball jumped out in front early and didn't look back, shutting out Cambridge Rindge and Latin 8-0 to advance to the Division 1 North Quarterfinals. Lynette Urena, Heather Wood and Emma McAlpine each had two RBIs in the win.

The Pentucket softball team couldn't mount any offense against Swampscott, losing 6-0 in the team's Division 2 North Preliminary matchup. The Sachems wrap up the season at 11-10, while Swampscott will face North Reading in the first round.

Timberlane gave heavily favored Alvirne all it could handle before falling 4-3 in eight innings to the Broncos in the first round of the Division 1 tournament. Junior Jill Aziz went the distance and pitched well for the Owls (7-12) and also had an RBI.