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Milestone win for unbeaten Owls

Saturday, April, 19 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

It may be April, but you would have been hard-pressed to convince members of the undefeated Timberlane softball team of that yesterday afternoon.

And it wasn't because of the sunny 75-degree weather, either.

After defeating two-time defending Class L champion Salem for the first time in school history, by a convincing 7-3 score no less, it seemed like a tournament victory in June.

"This carries a lot of weight, coming against the reigning state champions," said winning pitcher Steph Barrett. "For those of us who have been here four years, this is special."

Senior shortstop Amy Green, a four-year starter, contributed two hits, two RBIs, two runs scored and flawless defense.

"This is so huge I can't even describe it," said Green. "I've been thinking about Salem every practice, and all day today."

Salem scored in the first when Danielle Stoodley knocked in Steph Cabral, but the Owls came right back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. The key hits were a hard-hit single by Green which was misplayed in the outfield and left her standing on third, and an RBI bloop hit by Annie Hansbury (2 for 3).

"When they went up 1-0, you can't help but think, 'Here we go again.' But I've got a veteran group of kids this year and that makes a difference," said Timberlane coach Mike Sorter, whose club is now 5-0. "And I think this is one of the best hitting teams I've had."

The Owls did hit the ball hard against Salem starter Erin Lyons but, the Blue Devils, who dropped to 3-2, also contributed to their demise. They made an uncharacteristic eight errors on the day, including two in the first, three in the two-run Timberlane third and one more in the sixth, when the Owls scored twice more.

Timberlane only had three earned runs on the day.

 "That's as bad as we've played in 15 years," said Salem coach Harold Sachs. "But we knew coming into the season that we're not the best team ... but it's who is best in June. We're young. We need to get healthy and we need to figure some things out."

Trailing 5-1 in the sixth, Salem did rally when Katie Bettencourt (2 for 3) and Cabral singled with one out and Alex Gallant followed with a two-run triple. But Barrett stranded Gallant at third and the Owls came right back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on Green's 2-RBI hit.

"I was happy we didn't roll over and die," said Sachs. "If we had gotten that fourth run in from third it might have made a difference."

On a brighter note for Salem, junior Dominique Heres pitched well in relief and injured catcher Erica DePinto could be back next week.

Streaks snapped

Salem will have to regroup after losing two straight games for the first time in recent memory. Thursday the Blue Devils lost to 0-3 Memorial.

Twelfth-year Owls coach Mike Sorter said it was the first time Timberlane had beaten Salem. The two would have rarely if ever met prior to 1999, when Timberlane moved up from Class I to Class L.