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Gloucester gets past Somerville, set for rematch with Peabody

Friday, May, 30 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

The Gloucester softball team may wish that every game was a must-win.

After knocking off Masconomet in the season finale to clinch a state-tournament berth, the No. 19 Fishermen were looking to make it 2-2 in win-or-go-home games when they faced off against No. 14 Somerville yesterday in the preliminary round of the Division 1 North Tournament.

Sure enough, the Fishermen came to play, picking up a dominant 12-6 win over the Highlanders on the road at Trum Field. With the win, Gloucester (11-10) will play a familiar foe in No. 3 Peabody tomorrow (3 p.m.) in the Division 1 North first round. The Fishermen defeated Peabody, 5-4, in the only meeting of the season.

"This was a good win and we played really well," Gloucester head coach Julie Ferguson said. "We really hit the ball today and our pitching was great."

The Fishermen put the game away with a six-run sixth inning. Up 6-4 going into the frame, the Fishermen sent 10 batters to the plate. Ali Kippen gave the Fishermen a two-run lead when she singled in Alysha Clayton and Jill Lukegord. One batter later, Lani Gannon singled in Olivia Frontiero, who had walked, to make it 9-4. Kippen and Gannon later come in to score on fielder's choices, and Chalene Porter singled in Kelly Benson.

Somerville added two runs in the seventh, but it was too little, too late.

Lukegord picked up the win for the Fishermen allowing just three earned runs on six hits. She also registered nine strikeouts. Lani Gannon powered the Fishermen offense with four hits and five runs batted in. Clayton, Kippen, Benson and Porter all had two hits each.

Gannon's performance drew praise from Ferguson.

"Lani came up big today," Ferguson said. "She has been a key piece of our team all year. She has gotten a lot of big hits this year and she came up big again today."

Gloucester started off the game similar to the way it ended it, scoring six runs in the first three innings. Gannon made it 2-0 Gloucester in the first when she drove in Clayton and Lukegord with a two-out single. Gannon would later come in to score on a Nicole Whipple single.

Gannon made it 5-0 in the second when she singled in Clayton and Frontiero.

The Fishermen appeared to be cruising heading in to the fifth inning when they ran into some trouble. Gloucester allowed the Highlanders to get back into the game thanks to a four-run fifth inning with four errors. The Fishermen have had problems with defense this year and hope to sure it up before their next game.

"We played really well but we still had a bad inning," Lukegord said. "But Olivia (Frontiero) was able to calm us all down and we came out with six runs in the next inning."

While the Fishermen did not know much about Somerville, they sure know a lot about Northeastern Conference rival Peabody.

"We are very familiar with Peabody," Ferguson said. "We beat them the first time around but the tournament is a whole new season."

Lukegord believes that if the Fishermen play the way they did against Somerville, they will be moving on to the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

"We came to play today," Lukegord said. "We all played together, which is what we need. We are expecting another win on Saturday."