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CONCORD — With plenty of help from her teammates, senior Nora Galvin joined a distinguished list of  Salem softball pitchers. It’s a list that includes former greats Katie King, Karen Harrington, Krista Michalczyk, Alex Gallant ... and now must be expanded to include Galvin. By defeating Londonderry 2-1 in an intense Class L championship game, Galvin concluded a four-game tourney run with two no-hitters, one earned run, six hits allowed and 43 strikeouts in 24 innings. “They’re a lot to live up to,” said Galvin of her predecessors. “It’s pretty exciting to be considered with players like that.” It’s also something that veteran coach Harold Sachs predicted three years earlier, when Galvin was a freshman and the Blue Devils captured their last Class L crown. “When he hugged me after the game, he said, ‘You’ll be out there one day.’ That’s what I was hoping for,” said Galvin. Her performance was certainly worthy of comparison with previous Salem standouts according to Sachs, the state’s all-time win leader (483-67 in 25 years), who now has captured 14 state titles in 17 championship appearances. “Nora’s four games in the tournament were as good as any I’ve seen,” said Sachs. “And you hold a team like Londonderry to one run, you’re doing a great job.” Galvin and the Blue Devils (21-2) did have their hands full, however, with a Londonderry team (19-4) which pushed them to the limit. Salem took a 1-0 lead in the second when speedy Steph Cabral smashed a line drive to left field that was misplayed. Then, when the cutoff throw to the infield was off the mark, she was waved home for what she jokingly said was her first home run. “I was surprised he (Sachs) told me to keep going,” said Cabral. But Londonderry pitcher Theresa Zwart (five-hitter, one earned run) was nearly as effective as Galvin, who threw a three-hitter, striking out 10, and the Lancers tied the game, 1-1, in the fourth. Sam Nitso walked after working from an 0-2 count to lead off the inning, went to second on a bloop single by Emily Kraytenberg and then scored on a line drive single by Nicole Williams, who later added a mammoth two-out triple. Salem grabbed the lead back in the fifth, however, when Sarah Frahm walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Long and, after a semi-intentional walk to Nicole Gubellini, scored on an RBI single by junior catcher Jade Morrison. “She’s gotten big hits before, and she does a great job calling the game,” said Sachs. “Jade Morrison may be the most underrated player on the team.” And that was it for scoring, although Londonderry had opportunities. The Lancers’ leadoff batter reached base in four different innings (three on walks and one on an error), and Londonderry stranded seven runners. “Sometimes I do better with runners on base,” said Galvin. “When I was little, my dad always said to bear down when runners get on and I try to remember that.” In the top of the seventh, Londonderry appeared to have a final chance at tying the game. With one out, leadoff batter Lindsey Bolduc reached base on an infield single only to be called out by home plate umpire Glen Colburn for making contact out of the batter’s box. “What a time to make that call,” said Londonderry coach Wayne MacDougall. “That was very frustrating, to take us out of it like that. “We had runners on all day and, when it comes down to it, we just didn’t get it done. We could have beaten them, but I give all the credit to them. They’re not going to give up anything, and they’re just a very tough team to beat.” The championship loss marked the third time that Salem has beaten Londonderry in the finals, having defeated the Lancers in both 2001 (3-0) and 2007 (5-1). Salem has now won 17 state softball titles overall.   Salem 2, Londonderry 1 Class L Final Londonderry (1): Lindsey Bolduc ss 3-0-0, Theresa Zwart p 3-0-0, Daniele Crutcher 1b 3-0-0, Samantha Nitso dp 1-1-0, Emily Kraytenberg 3b 3-0-1, Sarah Pierce 2b 3-0-0, Nicole Williams lf 3-0-2, Kelly Hunt rf 1-0-0, Jess Reynolds ph 1-0-0, Abbey Lang c 3-0-0, Beth Rosenberg cf 0-0-0. Totals 24-1-3 Salem (2): Sarah Frahm 1b 3-1-1, Stephanie Long cf 2-0-1, Nicole Gubellini dp 0-0-0, Geena Terino pr 0-0-0, Julia Gray lf 3-0-0, Jade Morrison c 3-0-1, Samantha Cloutier rf 2-0-0, Amanda Baron ph 1-0-0, Steph Cabral ss 3-1-2, Amanda Vaudreuil 3b 3-0-0, Sara Bracken 2b 2-0-0, Hannah Latham pr 0-0-0, Nora Galvin p 0-0-0. Totals 22-2-5 RBI: L — Williams; S — Morrison WP: Galvin; LP: Zwart Londonderry (19-4):    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 Salem (21-2):    0 1 0 0 1 0 0 — 2

SALEM, N.H. — For a first-round tournament game, it wasn’t quite perfect, but it was close enough for senior pitcher Nora Galvin and the No. 2-seed Salem softball team.

Galvin took a perfect game into the fifth inning before settling for a five-inning 14-0 Class L first round no-hitter over an overmatched Timberlane squad.

Amanda Baron blasted a three-run homer over the fence, accounting for all of Salem's runs in a 3-0 win over Goffstown. Valerie Bauer and Nicole Gubellini combined on the mound to allow just two hits in the shutout.

Salem freshman Sam Cloutier (2 for 2, two runs scored), for the second game in a row, came off the bench and drove in two runs as surging Salem (15-2) blanked Merrimack 4-0. Nora Galvin went six innings, striking out eight and allowing just one hit, for the win.

Senior Nora Gavin tossed a complete-game three hitter, while striking out 10 to lead Salem to a 5-1 win over Dover. Sophomore Nicole Gubellini singled home a run in the first and classmate Stephanie Long singled in two in the second.

Salem's surging softball team (13-2) used 14 players and 10 of them scored runs in a 12-0 romp over Exeter.  Sam Cloutier, who didn't even start, had a three-run triple.

Valerie Bauer struck out 10 in four innings and her relief, Nicole Gubellini struck out three more to combine for 13 stikeouts out of a possible 15 outs in Salem's 13-1 rout over Trinity.  Amanda Vaudreuil had two hits in the first two innings, driving in three runs.

The sophomores continued to lead the way offensively for Salem's softball team (11-2). In a 4-0 win over Pinkerton, leadoff hitter Sarah Frahm was 2 for 4 and had a two-run double in the second, classmate Stephanie Long was 2 for 4 with an RBI and fellow sophomore Nicole Gubellini had the other RBI. Nora Galvin pitched a three-hitter to pick up the win.

Salem's softball team, already leading the area in hitting, had 23 hits in a 14-0 rout of Nashua South. Sarah Frahm and Julia Gray both had four hits and four other players had at least two hits. Nora Galvin and Val Bauer combined on a two-hitter for the Blue Devils (10-2), striking out 12.

The first two batters in Salem's batting order, sophomores Sarah Frahm and Stephanie Long, were 7 for 9 as the Blue Devils ripped Timberlane 10-1. Frahm scored twice and Long had four RBIs.