RallyNorth.net

Knights over Amesbury

Tuesday, May, 06 By John Shimer
Staff writer

The North Andover softball team has been a mystery that Amesbury cannot solve over the past two seasons.

A familiar pattern played out again yesterday as the Scarlet Knights made plays in key situations while the Indians helped North Andover with two costly errors in a 4-1 loss.

Amesbury also fell to North Andover, 6-4, April 9 in a game that was marred by Indians errors. Three of Amesbury's seven losses over the last two seasons have come against Amesbury. The Indians are 27-4 against all other teams.

From coach Chris Perry's perspective, Amesbury brought on its own problems from a lack of communication.

"We didn't make the plays when we had to, and they did," explained Perry. "Those two errors were a direct result of a lack in communication and we need to work on that, but that's the way it goes."

Amesbury got on the board first in the bottom of the second. Kelsey Fournier led off the inning with a bloop single, but was gunned down at second two pitches later on a close play, which proved to be huge in a contest in which runs would be at a premium.

On the next pitch, Laura Kaminski hit a long fly over the center fielder's head for a triple. She eventually scored on Kerri Salvatore's perfectly placed RBI bunt. But after another single from Anna Webber, North Andover's Nicole Jones pitched her way out of trouble.

The Scarlet Knights tied it 1-1 in the top of the fourth when Candace Waldie and Danielle Fournier led off with back-to-back hits, putting runners at the corners with no outs. However, Jordan Oliva minimized the damage as Kristin O'Connor's RBI groundout to second was the only run the Knights could manage.

After threatening but failing to go back on top in the bottom of the inning, the wheels came off the Amesbury wagon in the top of the fifth. Oliva got Jones to strikeout, but Krissy Whitley followed with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch. She then scored when Oliva threw the ball away on Alison McCarthy's sacrifice bunt, which also allowed McCarthy to go all the way to third.

Oliva looked primed to again escape major damage after a punchout and a walk, before O'Connor hit a bloop shot to right-center. But center fielder Gabby Magnifico could not come up with the catch as the ball hit off her glove to score the third Knight run. Oliva got out of the inning after Jackie Webber made a nice play at short, but the damage was done.

In the bottom of the inning, the Indians looked like they would finally have an answer and bust the game open at the plate. Jones got two quick outs, but then appeared to tire, walking Katie Hathaway, throwing a wild pitch, giving up a single to left to Magnifico, and walking Katelyn Bartley to load the bases for the Indians' most dangerous hitter, Kelsey Fournier.

Fournier fell behind in the count 0-2. She then hit a smash that seemed destined for extra bases at first glance, but first baseman O'Connor was perfectly placed to grab the liner that would assuredly have scored two.

North Andover manufactured one more run in the seventh to end the scoring from both sides and put the Knights back as the front-runners for the Cape Ann League title despite their loss to Rockport last Friday.

"We knew we were in the driver's seat after our win over Ipswich," North Andover coach Brian Martin said. "Then we lost to Ipswich and it was like back to the drawing board. But this was a big game, and it sits us right there where we want to be."

Martin felt his team made the key plays under pressure.

"Nicole (Jones) threw well today, after really emphasizing hitting her spots in practice (Sunday)," Martin said. "We know if she doesn't do that, we're in trouble. She appeared to tire towards the end, but she was able to continue to throw strikes, get some outs, and we played some good (defense) behind her. Kristin really made a huge play for us there in the fifth, and I didn't even know she was there, but they had three or four seeing-eye singles, so it all evened out."

With eight games remaining the Indians (9-3 overall, 4-1 CAL) will need help from another CAL team to pass North Andover (6-2, 3-1) in the standings since the Scarlet Knights will have the head-to-head advantage.