RallyNorth.net

Warriors Keep it Rolling

Friday, May, 13 By Kyle Gaudette

ANDOVER — After a clutch win against MVC rival Haverhill, the Andover girls made it two in a row with a 16-3 win over Lawrence (3-12) in five innings.

The victory puts the Golden Warriors back at an even .500 (6-6) for the season, and gives the team a little more momentum heading into a week where they will face four MVC opponents. For the time being however, coach Steve Tisbert and his squad are happy to put the team's previous four-game losing streak farther behind them.

"It feels good to get over that hump and get back to even," said Tisbert. "We got a big week coming up next week with Lowell, North Andover, Billerica and Dracut. It's a very tough schedule ahead of us. We need to make sure we continue to work hard and play good defense like we did today."

For these past two wins, the Warriors have rode the arm of freshmen pitcher Kathleen Hartnett. She struck out two Lancers over her five innings of work, and allowed only one run.

Kathleen and her sister Megan have split the load on the mound this year for the Warriors. Megan is a junior who was a starting pitcher for the team last season, but has played all over the field this year.

"[Megan] can play any position well," said Tisbert. "She's played at third base, pitcher, and in the outfield. We had a conversation at the beginning of the year and agreed that she was going to be an 'as-needed' player for us. Kathleen has been doing a good job as well. We've brought her along slowly at the beginning because we didn't want to throw her into the fire as a freshmen. She's following in with her sister who pitched us into the state tournament last year."

The Warriors were quiet offensively in the first two innings, but plated four runs in the bottom of the third. Abby Myers led off the inning with a double, and was singled in by Tori Roche. Kathleen Hartnett helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly, and Jill Powers singled in the final run of the inning to make it 5-0.

The five-run lead was more than enough for Hartnett to work with on the mound, but the Warriors added five more runs in the fourth inning, and six in the fifth.

Lawrence got on the board in the top of the fifth when Judy Pichardo crushed a leadoff triple to left field and was singled in by Jadhina Lu. Emily Taolo got the start for the Lancers on the mound, and singled in Vimary Vega for an RBI.

Tori Roche continued her fantastic season with a 2 for 3 day at the plate. She went 3 for 4 in Andover's win over Haverhill on Wednesday, and is now batting a ridiculous .523 on the season.

"She just has a really good head for the game," said Tisbert. "I can't say enough about her. She's one of our senior leaders and it will be tough to see her go."

Andover is at Lowell Monday for a 6 p.m. first pitch, while Lawrence hosts Billerica Monday at 3:30 p.m.

For Andover, the win over Haverhill was a turning-point in the season. While the upcoming competition holds a great challenge, the Warriors are looking for much more than just back to back wins.

"The win over Haverhill showed the girls that they can play with anyone," said Tisbert. "Haverhill is such a great program. It meant a lot to go toe-to-toe with them, and we also had that 16-inning marathon against Tewksbury. I think they know they can play, it's just a matter of executing.

"I can see them going on a run. I really do. I'm really proud of my girls and how hard they work every day. They know what to do."