RallyNorth.net

Fri, May 02, 2008 03:45 PM @ Manchester Essex

Team	Final
Masconomet	1
Manchester Essex	19

Manchester Essex pounds Masconomet

Saturday, May, 03 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

Finding offense has been the Achilles' heel for the Manchester Essex softball team this season.

When the Hornets get base runners, they have been struggling to bring them in. However, that wasn't the problem yesterday against Masconomet. Powered by a six run first and second inning, the Hornets pounded the Chieftains, 19-1, at Sweeney Park.

The game was called after four and half innings due to the mercy rule. In four at bats, the Hornets slugged 21 hits and batted around three times en route to victory.

"Everybody came out and had a great game today," Hornets head coach Mike Mullarkey said. "I challenged the girls today to hit for solid contact. I didn't care how far it went or if they hit it right at somebody, I just wanted them to focus on hitting the ball hard, and they came through."

The Hornets (3-7), found their hitting stroke early and often in this one. Pitcher Lindsey Cambridge put the Hornets up 3-0 in the top of the first with a bases loaded double that scored Breezy DiPietro who singled, Alex Zager who singled, and Julia Martz who walked. Cambridge would come home two batters later on a Rebecca Lynch RBI double. Laurel Edington then singled in Lynch to make it 5-0 Hornets. Dipietro would pick up her second single of the inning, the last bringing in Maeve Cullinan who walked to make it 6-0 after one.

Manchester Essex kept the offense going with six more in the second. Vicky Nicholas made it 8-0 Hornets when she doubled in Cambridge, who reached on a double, and Patty Wright who singled. Nicholas, Cullinan (single) and Edington (walk) would all come in to score two batters later on a Chieftains throwing error to make it 11-0. Dipietro would make it 12-0 when she scored on an error after also reaching on an error.

The Hornets would add two more runs in the third and five in the fifth to cap the scoring. Masconomet got their lone run in the fourth inning when Stephanie Guido singled in K.J. McGann (single).

Cambridge led the Hornets offense with four hits, three runs scored and three runs batted in. Wright and Edington also had big games for Manchester Essex with three hits each. Every Hornet starter had at least one hit and one run scored, and every Hornet reserve had a hit or a run scored.

"Our hitting really came together today," Cambridge said. "Everybody had a big day, even some of the girls who had been struggling. This is going to be a big confidence booster for us."

Cambridge was just as good on the mound as she was at the plate. The senior captain went the distance for the Hornets allowing just three hits and striking out eight.

"I felt good today," Cambridge said. "I was a little rusty my last start (a 5-1 loss to Lynnfield) because I had a week layoff, but I felt a lot more comfortable today and my control was better."

The Hornets hope their offensive explosion will carry over to the second half of the season, which starts next week when they play North Reading, Wilmington and Hamilton-Wenham respectively. Mullarkey knows these games won't be easy, but he thinks his team has the potential to play with the big schools in the Cape Ann League.

"I am hoping today's game will give us confidence going forward because we are playing some of the bigger (Cape Ann League) schools starting next week," Mullarkey said. "We have to be aggressive to the ball and focus on getting solid base hits. We did that today which was awesome and if we do that in the future we will be in good shape."