RallyNorth.net

SALEM — All year long, Salem coach Harold Sachs has said that Division 1 is wide open and that anyone can win on any given day. Unfortunately, Sachs was proven correct yesterday when No. 9-seed Bishop Guertin (10-10) knocked off the Blue Devils (20-2) in a huge quarterfinal upset. How big was the BG win? Cardinals’ coach Myia Yates could hardly put it into words. “This was just a tremendous accomplishment for us,” said Yates. “I’d have to go back in the record books to see if we’ve ever beaten them. To beat a team like Salem is unbelievable. “This was by far our best game of the year and it had to be. We did everything all-around.” Although Sachs lamented a couple of Salem base running mistakes, and one Guertin run scored on a throwing error, this was a game Guertin probably deserved to win. The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a home run by Jacklyn Davis and, after Salem responded with two runs in the fifth, hit the ball hard in the sixth, scoring two runs on three hits, the big blow being an RBI double by Kenzie McCabe. Salem had taken the lead on a two-run homer by Sarah Frahm after Sara Bracken led off the fifth with a single up the middle. But, other than that, Salem couldn’t find the gaps and Bishop Guertin played a strong defensive game, led by shortstop Jessica Lemos. Guertin pitcher Lauren Bingham wasn’t overpowering, striking out only two, but her defense gave her the support she needed to oust the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years. Frahm and Amanda Baron both had two hits for Salem..

The bottom of Salem's order is better than the heart of most teams'. No. 6 hitter Samantha Cloutier (3 RBIs, 2 runs), No. 7 Stephanie Cabral (2 runs, 2 RBIs), No. 8 Rachel Morrissey (2 RBIs) and No. 9 Sara Bracken (3 RBIs, 2 hits) showed the way in a 5-inning, 13-0, tourney-opening win over Keene. Nicole Gubellini fanned six in four innings of two-hit ball.

LONDONDERRY — One day after Salem coach Harold Sachs recorded his 500th career softball victory, his defending state-champion Blue Devils wasted no time adding to his total.

Having already secured New Hampshire’s Division 1 regular-season title, Salem scored six in the first and Nicole Gubellini allowed on hit in an 8-0 victory over Londonderry.

Four first-inning runs gave junior Nicole Gubellini a smooth road to her ninth pitching victory as Salem defeated Nashua South, 4-2. Gubellini helped her own cause with a two-run double while Jade Morrison and Amanda Baron added RBI singles.

For the second straight day, Salem (14-1) hit two home runs, this time blanking Exeter 9-0 as Amanda Baron and Sarah Frahm connected. Nicole Gubellini struck out 11 in six innings for the win.

Geena Terino and Samantha Cloutier each homered, while Jade Morrison and Nicole Gubellini added triples as the Salem softballers roughed up Keene, 10-1.

Steph Long had a key two-run single in the second inning and Nicole Gubellini and Val Bauer, the latter of whom retired three straight and left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh after entering the game in relief, as Salem clipped Alvirne 8-2.

Nicole Gubellini pitched the last five innings in relief for the win and went 3 for 4 at the plate with two home runs, giving her three in three games as Salem survived Manchester Memorial 4-2. Two outstanding defensive plays, by right fielder Rachel Murphy and second baseman Sara Bracken, were pivotal in the victory according to coach Harold Sachs.

Salem, the defending Class L softball champions, lost its first game of the season 1-0 to Manchester Central, snapping a 23-game winning streak dating back to last year. Central scored in the bottom of the seventh to spoil a fine pitching performance by Nicole Gubellini.

Nicole Gubellini and Val Bauer often combine on the mound for Salem, but yesterday they both impacted the unbeaten Blue Devils' 7-1 win over Merrimack in different ways. Gubellini hit a grand slam homer over the left field fence for the key hit in the game and Bauer went the distance on the mound for the shutout, striking out 13 while scattering six hits.