RallyNorth.net

HAVERHILL — Those two days of rain earlier in the week may have given Amesbury the edge it needed Wednesday afternoon in the Division 3 North quarterfinal matchup against Whittier.

Senior Madison Schaefer fired a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and No. 3 Newton North downed No. 6 Methuen, 4-1, in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

Junior Kelsie McGonagle did her job in defeat. She scattered seven hits and all four runs were unearned. She also snared a couple of hard-hit liners.

Haverhill dropped its quarterfinal softball matchup at Billerica, 9-2, but head coach Kara Melillo was upbeat about the season.

"I'm proud of this team," said Melillo, whose club finished 13-9. "Our tournament win (against Lynn Classical) was the first in 22 years."

The Haverhill softball team jumped out in front early, taking a 5-0 lead after the second inning, and pitcher Bryana Michitson took care of things from there, going the distance to help the Hillies beat Lynn Classical 6-1 in the Division 1 North First Round. 

Pinkerton's softball team held a 4-0 lead after five innings but Spaulding scored twice in the sixth and four times in the bottom of the seventh to grab a frustrating 6-4 victory in the Division 1 quarterfinals. Caitlin Hogan was 3 for 4 and scored twice for the Astros (14-6). 

In a game that could have gone either way, Pelham fell to Pembroke 4-3 in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Sarah Ratcliffe had a two-run single for the Pythons, who finished with a 14-4 record.

Olivia Beauchesne doubled in Kayle Hobbs with the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh to lift Whittier to a 2-1 victory over Essex Tech in the first round of the Division 3 tournament.

Methuen softball jumped out in front early and didn't look back, shutting out Cambridge Rindge and Latin 8-0 to advance to the Division 1 North Quarterfinals. Lynette Urena, Heather Wood and Emma McAlpine each had two RBIs in the win.

The Pentucket softball team couldn't mount any offense against Swampscott, losing 6-0 in the team's Division 2 North Preliminary matchup. The Sachems wrap up the season at 11-10, while Swampscott will face North Reading in the first round.

Timberlane gave heavily favored Alvirne all it could handle before falling 4-3 in eight innings to the Broncos in the first round of the Division 1 tournament. Junior Jill Aziz went the distance and pitched well for the Owls (7-12) and also had an RBI. 

Pinkerton scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth on doubles by Caitlin Hogan and Abby Amato and RBI triples by Alyssa DiMauro and Carrie St. Peter to rally past Merrimack 7-4 in the first round of the Division 1 tournament. St. Peter had a season-high 14 strikeouts to pick up the win for the Astros (14-5). 

Everything seemed to be going wrong for the Pelham softball team Wednesday in the Division 2 opening round — until the seventh inning.

Trailing underdog John Stark 5-3 in the seventh, thanks largely to four errors that led to four unearned runs, the No. 3-seed Pythons scored five runs with two outs to escape with an 8-6 victory.

Winning pitcher Alyssa Wilson (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI) and Kelleigh Greaney (3 hit) had the hot bats as Whittier beat Greater Lowell 13-1 in five innings to wrap up an 18-2 regular season.

METHUEN — The Methuen softball team is primarily young, but don't let that fool you.

North Andover's softball team ended its season on a high note, defeating Tewksbury 5-3. Cassidy Howe and Olivia Rondeau slugged home runs for the Knights (8-12). Cassidy Howe and Carley Howe were both 2 for 3.