RallyNorth.net

Donegan, Martin power Central into finals

Friday, June, 10 By Jeff Hamrick
Correspondent

LOWELL — It became obvious early in last night’s Division 1 North semifinal that Meg Donegan would throw strikes for as long as Central Catholic needed.
Brianna Martin, however, ensured her teammate didn’t need to work overtime.
The Raider lead-off hitter smacked a two-run double with two outs in the top of the seventh and Donegan completely dominated top-seeded Chelmsford as fifth-seeded Central walked away with a 2-0 victory at Martin Field.
Central (18-3) returns to the same field to play seventh-seeded Acton-Boxboro (18-5) today at 3:30. Chelmsford had beaten Central twice in the regular season and the Raiders’ other loss came vs. A-B.
“We’ve been in the (North) semis each time since 2007 and only got past it one time (when the Raiders lost the 2008 Division 2 state semifinals),” Central coach Stacy Ciccolo said. “We think we have a special team, and we’re going to make a go of it. And I think the kids are hungry and don’t want to stop playing softball yet.”
The only serious trouble Donegan faced was after a one-out double in the second, but the senior struck out the next two batters to erase the threat. It was the only time she allowed a runner past first.
“(Chelmsford’s) always been a great hitting team,” said Donegan who was out with the flu the first Chelmsford game and lost the second 2-1. “I was just working the corners and trying to keep them off balance.”
Raising her record to 15-2, Donegan put up some special numbers while posting nine strikeouts and allowing three hits against a team that was averaging 8.7 runs per game.
Not only didn’t she walk a batter, she never had a three-ball count and only four times threw as many as two balls to a hitter. She struck out five in a row in one stretch and needed only 76 pitches, 54 of which went for strikes.
“She’s been outstanding for us all year,” Ciccolo said. “She was a little fired up tonight. I could tell she was prepared mentally to go ... She carries the workload for us, and we kind of knew she would do whatever it took to stay in this game.”
But all that work would have gone for naught, had Martin not delivered the crucial hit in the seventh.
Pinch-hitter Leslie Moore started the rally with a one-out single before a fielder’s choice by Nicole Howe and Alex Borrelli’s second hit of the game left runners on first and second. Martin, averaging a team-leading .549, lashed the first offering she saw from Megan Rich into the left-field corner to drive in both.
“I was very nervous,” Martin said. “But I just tried to stay calm. My dad (North Andover coach Brian Martin) always says know when you have the bat that you’re the best hitter, no matter what. And that’s what I thought when I went up there ... I was just looking to hit it hard I didn’t care where it went as long as I hit it hard.”
In addition, center-fielder Martin made a nice running catch to right center to end the sixth. Donegan also got a help from shortstop Borrelli, who went up the middle for a grounder and started an inning-ending double play in the fourth.
Central Catholic 2, Chelmsford 0
Division 1 North Semifinal
Central Catholic (2): Brianna Martin cf 4-0-1, Britt Hall 2b 3-0-1, Meg Donegan p 2-0-1, Abbie King cr 0-0-0, Corrine Gosselin 1b 3-0-0, Kelly Michal c 3-0-0, Karissa Forzese 3b 3-0-0, Alexa Economou dp 2-0-0, Leslie Moore lf 1-0-1, Nicole Howe lf 3-1-0, Alex Borrelli ss 3-1-2. Totals 27-2-6
Chelmsford (0): Abby Johnson ss 3-0-0, Meghan McNamara lf 3-0-0, Alex Burgess cf 3-0-1, Rachel Couto 3b 3-0-1, Alison Couch c 3-0-1, Emily Lomis cr 0-0-0, Clancy Taylor 2b 2-0-0, Janelle Levesque dp 2-0-0, Dee Hayden 1b 2-0-0, Jen Janiak lf 2-0-0, Megan Rick p 0-0-0. Totals 23-0-3
RBI: Martin 2
WP: Donegan 15-2; LP: Rich 12-2
Next game: Today vs. Acton-Boxboro, 3:30 p.m., Martin Field in Lowell, Division 1 North final
Chelmsford (21-2):    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Central Catholic (18-3):    0 0 0 0 0 0 2 — 2

Dazzling Donegan
Meg Donegan’s night:
Runs: 0
Strikeouts: 9
Walks: 0
Hits: 3
Pitches: 76
Strikes: 54
3-ball counts: 0