RallyNorth.net

Thu, Jun 11, 2015 04:00 PM @ Medford

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
Central Catholic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Medford	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3

Central's dream run ends against Medford

Thursday, June, 11 By By Bill Burt
Sports editor

LOWELL — Central Catholic will never forget the stunning win over Newton North to get to the Div. 1 North semifinals, the first time ever a 25th seed knocked off the No. 1 seed.

But Central would like to forget the fourth inning yesterday against Medford.

Medford, which improved to 16-7, sandwiched a few singles around a few Central misplays, a passed ball, a wild pitch and a walk to score the only three runs of the game en route to the 3-0 win over Raiders.

"The three-spot was tough, that's going to happen against a good team like Medford," said Central coach Stacy Ciccolo. "But I'm more disappointed in the fact we couldn't put any on the board when we had chances. We just didn't challenge them enough when the opportunities were there."

Before Central's meltdown in the fourth inning, both starters, Central's Olivia Antczak and Medford's Ashley Eisnor, were in control. Medford's only baserunner was on a passed ball after a third strike while Eisnor struck out five Central batters.

In the fourth inning, Central's Caroline Leavitt hit a 225-foot shot to deep centerfield into a headwind, which would have been out of most parks. But the fence is 235 feet at Martin Field and it turned into a long out.

"I got all of it," said the senior third-baseman from Atkinson, N.H. "It got up there in the wind in the deepest part of the park."

Central made a mini-run in the sixth inning when Hailey Cockroft lead off with a line-drive single. This time Antczak hit a monster shot to left field, which when first hit appeared to be a possible home run. But the wind held that one in too, just in front of the 210-foot sign, turning into another long out.

Leavitt followed with a single, but Bella Jankowski's hard grounder to second base was handled, killing what was Central's last rally.

While there is a lot of hope on the Central roster, with Jankowski, Cockroft, Madison Borrelli, Niamh Walker (pitcher), Hayley Andrade (two hits) and freshman Abby Latham, who smashed a line drive to right to end the game, there will be a few big losses.

Coach Ciccolo said two of this team's stars, both of whom played their best during this recent run that saw Central squeak into the state tournament and beat Newton North, will be sorely missed.

"Olivia and Caroline have played every game since their freshmen year," said Ciccolo. "They were not only great players, but great leaders. They were fighters, big-time competitors. They've given so much to this program. That's hard to replace."

Leavitt was wiping away tears after Ciccolo met with team as a group in the outfield after the game.

She admitted being sad, particularly over the fact that her career at Central is officially over.

"I'm disappointed we lost, because we sort of crumbled there (in the fourth inning) and that hurts," said Leavitt, who will play at St. Anselm in Goffstown, N.H. next year.

"But the tough part is it's hard to imagine that I'll never play for Central Catholic again," she said. "This was the best part of my experience at Central, playing softball with this team. I'll never forget it."

 

 

Central Catholic (0)

Hailey Cockroft rf 3-0-1, Madison Borrelli 2b 2-0-0, Olivia Antczak p 3-0-0, Caroline Leavitt 3-0-1, Bella Jankowski ss 3-0-0, Leila Camplese lf 3-0-0, Molly Hamel lf 1-0-0, Niamh Walker ph 1-0-0, Sydney Rousseau ph 1-0-1, Hayley Andrade dp 3-0-2, Courtney Woronka cf 2-0-0, Abby Latham ph 1-0-0, Caleigh Finneral 1b 0-0-0, Totals 26-0-5

Medford (3)

Donnelly cf 3-0-0, Flynn c 3-0-0, Napoleone ss 3-1-2, Eisnor p 2-1-0, Kearny rf 3-0-1, Farrell 3-0-1, Stuade 2b 3-0-0, Harbison dp 2-0-0, Braga cf 2-0-0, Mitrano 3b 0-0-0, Totals 24-3-4

Central — 000 000 0—0

Medford — 000 300 X-3

RBI: M — Kearney, Staude

WP: M — Eisnor; LP: CC — Antczak