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Galvin, Salem shade Londonderry for title

CONCORD — With plenty of help from her teammates, senior Nora Galvin joined a distinguished list of  Salem softball pitchers.
It’s a list that includes former greats Katie King, Karen Harrington, Krista Michalczyk, Alex Gallant ... and now must be expanded to include Galvin.
By defeating Londonderry 2-1 in an intense Class L championship game, Galvin concluded a four-game tourney run with two no-hitters, one earned run, six hits allowed and 43 strikeouts in 24 innings.
“They’re a lot to live up to,” said Galvin of her predecessors. “It’s pretty exciting to be considered with players like that.”
It’s also something that veteran coach Harold Sachs predicted three years earlier, when Galvin was a freshman and the Blue Devils captured their last Class L crown.
“When he hugged me after the game, he said, ‘You’ll be out there one day.’ That’s what I was hoping for,” said Galvin.
Her performance was certainly worthy of comparison with previous Salem standouts according to Sachs, the state’s all-time win leader (483-67 in 25 years), who now has captured 14 state titles in 17 championship appearances.
“Nora’s four games in the tournament were as good as any I’ve seen,” said Sachs. “And you hold a team like Londonderry to one run, you’re doing a great job.”
Galvin and the Blue Devils (21-2) did have their hands full, however, with a Londonderry team (19-4) which pushed them to the limit.
Salem took a 1-0 lead in the second when speedy Steph Cabral smashed a line drive to left field that was misplayed. Then, when the cutoff throw to the infield was off the mark, she was waved home for what she jokingly said was her first home run.
“I was surprised he (Sachs) told me to keep going,” said Cabral.
But Londonderry pitcher Theresa Zwart (five-hitter, one earned run) was nearly as effective as Galvin, who threw a three-hitter, striking out 10, and the Lancers tied the game, 1-1, in the fourth.
Sam Nitso walked after working from an 0-2 count to lead off the inning, went to second on a bloop single by Emily Kraytenberg and then scored on a line drive single by Nicole Williams, who later added a mammoth two-out triple.
Salem grabbed the lead back in the fifth, however, when Sarah Frahm walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Long and, after a semi-intentional walk to Nicole Gubellini, scored on an RBI single by junior catcher Jade Morrison.
“She’s gotten big hits before, and she does a great job calling the game,” said Sachs. “Jade Morrison may be the most underrated player on the team.”
And that was it for scoring, although Londonderry had opportunities.
The Lancers’ leadoff batter reached base in four different innings (three on walks and one on an error), and Londonderry stranded seven runners.
“Sometimes I do better with runners on base,” said Galvin. “When I was little, my dad always said to bear down when runners get on and I try to remember that.”
In the top of the seventh, Londonderry appeared to have a final chance at tying the game.
With one out, leadoff batter Lindsey Bolduc reached base on an infield single only to be called out by home plate umpire Glen Colburn for making contact out of the batter’s box.
“What a time to make that call,” said Londonderry coach Wayne MacDougall. “That was very frustrating, to take us out of it like that.
“We had runners on all day and, when it comes down to it, we just didn’t get it done. We could have beaten them, but I give all the credit to them. They’re not going to give up anything, and they’re just a very tough team to beat.”
The championship loss marked the third time that Salem has beaten Londonderry in the finals, having defeated the Lancers in both 2001 (3-0) and 2007 (5-1). Salem has now won 17 state softball titles overall.
 
Salem 2, Londonderry 1
Class L Final
Londonderry (1): Lindsey Bolduc ss 3-0-0, Theresa Zwart p 3-0-0, Daniele Crutcher 1b 3-0-0, Samantha Nitso dp 1-1-0, Emily Kraytenberg 3b 3-0-1, Sarah Pierce 2b 3-0-0, Nicole Williams lf 3-0-2, Kelly Hunt rf 1-0-0, Jess Reynolds ph 1-0-0, Abbey Lang c 3-0-0, Beth Rosenberg cf 0-0-0. Totals 24-1-3
Salem (2): Sarah Frahm 1b 3-1-1, Stephanie Long cf 2-0-1, Nicole Gubellini dp 0-0-0, Geena Terino pr 0-0-0, Julia Gray lf 3-0-0, Jade Morrison c 3-0-1, Samantha Cloutier rf 2-0-0, Amanda Baron ph 1-0-0, Steph Cabral ss 3-1-2, Amanda Vaudreuil 3b 3-0-0, Sara Bracken 2b 2-0-0, Hannah Latham pr 0-0-0, Nora Galvin p 0-0-0. Totals 22-2-5
RBI: L — Williams; S — Morrison
WP: Galvin; LP: Zwart
Londonderry (19-4):    0 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1
Salem (21-2):    0 1 0 0 1 0 0 — 2