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Crotts blast sinks Londonderry

One mistake from Londonderry's Brooke Beaudet was all Kristin Crotts needed.

Crotts, a senior first baseman, jumped all over a two-strike fastball, crushing it to dead center. The bomb, which drove in Annie Hansbury, broke open a tie game in the bottom of the third and allowed Timberlane to grab a 3-1 victory.

"Kristin Crotts destroyed that ball," said Owls coach Mike Sorter. "Unreal. She absolutely destroyed that. She's not blessed with a whole lot of foot speed, and she was almost at third by the time they picked it up. She did that with two strikes, too. She got all of that.

"That was obviously what seemed to turn the momentum our way. They had a bit of air but it seemed to be let out of them when that happened. I think it was just a shock, something they weren't expecting. I wasn't expecting it."

The Owls played a nearly flawless game in the field as they became the only 3-0 team in New Hampshire's Class L. A fine game from Stephanie Barrett, who struck out eight batters in a complete-game win, helped tremendously.

"I can't remember the last time we played that cleanly defensively," said Sorter. "Offensively, we got a little contribution from everybody. I don't think we made any mistakes that I know of. You know what, if the kids play like that, you've got a chance every single time."

Londonderry was held to six hits and their bats were quiet after the third inning. The Lancers (2-1) stranded four runners in scoring position and had another picked off trying to steal third to end an inning.