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Methuen Rangers Softball '18

Methuen softball surges into North final

 LOWELL — Methuen softball coach Jason Smith couldn’t have drawn up a better game plan than the one his Rangers delivered in Thursday night’s Division 1 North semifinals.
 
With starter Jillian McCoy quieting the bats of top-seeded Concord-Carlisle and a defense that threw out three base runners, including two at the plate, fourth-seeded Methuen advanced to its first North final since 2015 with a 5-1 victory on Thursday at Martin Field.
 
“Yes it was,” Smith said when asked if it was as sweet as he imagined. “(Concord-Carlisle) is a fantastic opponent, and we knew we were going to get a battle. But my hat is off to my (Rangers).
 
“They are a really close-knit group that has each other’s back. They were ultra focused tonight. Between Jill and our defense, we were ready, and I was very pleased with the results.
 
The Rangers (20-3) will return to Martin Field to face seventh-seeded Newton North (18-4) in the Division 1 North final at 7 p.m. Newton North was a 2-1 winner over Medford in the earlier semi, at 7 p.m. Saturday. 
Methuen catcher Courtney Belanger twice magnificently blocked the plate while taking a pair of great throws from third baseman Emma McAlpine that nailed the game’s first would-be run in the fourth, and another potential run in the sixth. Belanger was also the middle assist on a play at third that began with a fly out to right fielder Kerri Horan.
“Courtney does a fantastic job of positioning herself in the right place,” Smith said. “We had some really good throws. We needed to make the good throws because they needed to be almost perfect in those situations, and we made the plays. Credit to our defense tonight for helping out their pitcher.”
Methuen opened the scoring in the third when Nyah Mazzone blasted a double and scored on an error. The Rangers added two in the fifth on an RBI ground out by Mazzone and a single by McAlpine. Mazzone also drove in a seventh-inning run with a single before scoring on Concord’s third error of the game.
Mazzone, a junior who bats third, junior clean-up hitter McAlpine and freshman lead-off Steph Tardugno have combined to go 15-for-26 in three postseason games with nine RBIs while scoring half  of Methuen’s 16 runs.
“We talked about moving up a little bit in the box,” Smith said. “But I think we were a little anxious early, too. We have some young players in the lineup ... so we had to calm the nerves a little bit. Once we got a few (hits), I think everyone saw we could do this.”
Sophomore hurler McCoy won her second playoff start, allowing five hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

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Softball, 06/14/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Seniors power Methuen softball to semis

METHUEN - Jason Smith only has two seniors on his softball squad, but it turns out the Methuen coach has quality in his pair.

While Kelsie McGonagle was throttling the Peabody offense, Taylor Cassidy provided her classmate all the support she would need with a pair of run-scoring singles as the Rangers advanced to the Division 1 North semifinals with a 4-1 victory Tuesday night over the fifth-seeded Tanners.

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Softball, 06/12/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Cantral's playoff hopes take step up

 

LAWRENCE — It's been a struggle for the inexperienced Central Catholic softball team, which has been battling uphill to make the state tournament.

But the Raiders took a huge step toward qualifying Monday with an impressive 6-2 victory over Methuen, improving to  8-8 with four games still to play.

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Softball, 05/28/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Tardugno sisters have a day

In her first varsity start as a pitcher, Stephanie Tardugno got a win in a 19-3 win over Greater Lawrence. She also went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, while her sister, Julia, went 2 for 2 with three runs scored.

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Softball, 05/21/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Speed kills

Jillian McCoy threw a 4-hitter and Methuen (13-1) used its speed and aggression on the basepaths to beat Lowell, 2-1. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, Stephanie Tardugno singled with two outs and Claudia Crowe reached on an infield single. Tardugno scored and Crowe went to third on an infield error. Soon after Crowe bolted in for the winning run on an overthrow back to the pitcher.

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Softball, 05/17/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Clutch Mazzone

 

Nyah Mazzone drove in three runs and Claudia Crowe was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI as Methuen (12-1) continued to surge, blanking Haverhill 7-0.

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Softball, 05/16/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Crowe comes up clutch

Central Catholic intentionally walked the bases loaded to get to Claudia Crowe, and the sophomroe made it regretthat decision. She lined a two-run single to put Methuen back on top 3-2, and the Rangers hung on for the win. Senior co-captain Taylor Cassidy went 2 for 2 with two runs scored batting from the No. 8 spot in the order.

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Softball, 05/14/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Ranger streak alive

 

Methuen's softball team qualified for the state tournament for the 18th straight year after defeating Tewksbury 4-3. Steph Tardugno was 4 for 4 and scored twice with an RBI for the Rangers (10-1) and Emma McAlpine had two hits and two RBIs.

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Softball, 05/11/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

12 run fifth

Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth, Methuen softball broke the game open and more with a 12-run inning. Cori Rizzo highlighted the day for the Rangers (9-1), going 3 for 5 with two runs scored.

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Softball, 05/09/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Cassidy, McAlpine lead Rangers

Junior Emma McAlpine had three hits, crushing two doubles while driving in three, to help Methuen earn an 8-3 win over rival North Andover. Trailiing 1-0 after the first inning, senior Taylor Casssidy drove in big run to get the Rangers on the board.

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Softball, 05/08/18 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
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