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Despite outplaying No. 2 seed Alvirne and ace pitcher Taylor Carbone most of the way, Londonderry dropped a 10-inning heartbreaker, 3-2 in 10 innings, in the Division 1 semifinals.

LONDONDERY — At just the right time, the pieces may be fitting together quite nicely for the Londonderry softball team.
On an afternoon in which it all fell apart for No. 1-seed and defending state champion Salem, which was upset by Bishop Guertin 3-2, the Lancers showed strength in every facet of the game in an 8-0 Division 1 quarterfinal romp over Nashua South.
Londonderry (17-4), which has overcome adversity over the last month, advanced to Thursday’s 4 p.m. semifinals against Alvirne (18-3) at Southern New Hampshire University.
During the season, starting first baseman Danielle Crutcher missed most of the action with mononucleosis, ace pitcher Theresa Zwart developed a brain abnormality that has forced her to be a designated hitter only and starting catcher Abby Lang — who was hitting over .400 — suffered a knee injury that probably has ended her season.
But the Lancers displayed their resiliency yesterday. Crutcher played the entire game, scoring a run and making a great defensive play, No. 2 pitcher Sam Corey threw a six-hit shutout, striking out seven, and backup catcher Cara Colotti, a junior, was 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
“Cara can hit and I thought she called a good game today,” said Londonderry coach Wayne MacDougall. “I thought overall we looked pretty good today.”
Coming into the tournament, MacDougall’s biggest concern was, without being able to use Zwart, Londonderry’s pitching, but Corey may have eased his fears yesterday.
“She’s technically our No. 2 pitcher, but she pitched like a No. 1 today,” said MacDougall. “She had them off balance and she seemed very relaxed out there. She has a tendency to get rattled.”
But that is something Corey has been working on.
“The key for me is being confident, feeling good and shaking it off when things don’t go well,” said Corey. “I felt good today. I love the pressure of pitching in the big games.”
Corey must have felt relaxed after the bottom of the first, when Londonderry scored five runs, courtesy of a leadoff double by Lindsay Bolduc, three errors, a dropped sun-plagued fly ball and a two-RBI hit by Colotti.
A two-run homer by Nicole Williams in the third made it 7-0 and Colotti’s RBI single drove in Kelly Hunt ( 3 for 3) with Londonderry’s final run in the fifth.                 
“We can hit the ball, but we’ve had some trouble against the really good pitchers,” said MacDougall. “We’ll find out if we’re over that against Alvirne (with ace pitcher Taylos Carbone).”

Londonderry senior Theresa Zwart, who has been plagued by a brain irregularity over the last month, hit a two-run homer — a career first — to key Londonderry to a 6-5 victory over Exeter in the first round of the Division 1 tournament. Sam Nitso also had a solo home run for the Lancers (16-4), who host Nashua South Saturday at 4 p.m.

LONDONDERRY — One day after Salem coach Harold Sachs recorded his 500th career softball victory, his defending state-champion Blue Devils wasted no time adding to his total.

Having already secured New Hampshire’s Division 1 regular-season title, Salem scored six in the first and Nicole Gubellini allowed on hit in an 8-0 victory over Londonderry.

Sarah Pierce clobbered a home run and two doubles in Londonderry's 10-1 victory over Merrimack. Pierce actually had two round-trippers but the umpires ruled that one blast that landed over the fence had bounced over.

Junior Sam Corey struck out a dozen and Samantha Nitso homered to drive in three as Londonderry dropped Timberlane, 8-3. Leadoff hitter Masha Lange paced the Owls with two hits and two runs scored.

And to think head coach Wayne MacDougall called this just "a good offensive day." His Londonderry squad erupted for 17 hits in a 9-2 victory over Bishop Guertin, setting the tone in the first inning on Nicole Williams' two-run double followed by a two-run homer off the bat of Rachel Kraytenberg.

Londonderry got home runs from surging junior Rachel Kraytenberg and Sam Nitso in an 8-2 win over Nashua North. Sam Corey threw a four-hitter, striking out 10, for the win.

One day after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at Concord, Londonderry's softball team took out its frustration with a 13-0 rout of archrival Pinkerton. Rachel Kraytenberg had a grad-slam homer in the first, Sam Nitso belted a two-run shot and Lindsey Bolduc was 4 for 4 and scored three runs. 

Londonderry's softball team had 10 hits, but only one run, off Spaulding ace Paige Cormier and dropped its first game of the season, 2-1. Rachel Kraytenberg remained hot for the Lancers (7-1) with two hits and an RBI.