RallyNorth.net

Amesbury ousts Whittier in 10 innings

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.

Stifled by Whittier ace Nicole Verrette on a 4-hitter in the Methuen Tournament the weekend before last, Amesbury managed nine hits and just enough offense in the rematch to edge the Wildcats, 4-3 in 10 innings.

“She (Verrette) is a really good pitcher and we had trouble against her last time,” said Amesbury coach Jacqui Waters. “All the rain may have helped us prepare. We worked hard for two days on the kind of pitches she likes and I think that helped.”

Still, in what was as intense a game as you could find, it was a pair of Whittier errors that bailed out the Indians (17-6).

Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Amesbury senior Mikayla Porcaro, who hit a solo home run in the second, circled the bases again to tie the game when her deep fly ball to the outfield was misplayed. Then, in the top of the 10th, a throwing error to start the inning led to a safety squeeze bunt for the winning run.

“That was a great game that either team could have won but a couple of errors and a mental error on the basepaths hurt us,” said Whittier coach Cheryl Begin. “But the girls gave it everything they had and I’m very proud of the season (19-3).”

Trailing 1-0 in the second after Porcaro’s solo blast in the top of the frame, Whittier grabbed a 2-1 lead on hits by Nicole Verrette and KJ Campbell and an RBI triple by Olivia Beauchesne.

Then, after Amesbury tied it in the top of the third, the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning on a Kaley Thibault triple and an RBI single by Allison Beauchesne.

But Amesbury junior pitcher Haley Catania settled down after that and the Indians got the unearned runs in the sixth and 10th for the win. Catania only struck out three while allowing 10 hits, but she got great defensive support and allowed just two base runners over the last three innings.

The Indians only have two seniors on their roster, but they were huge against the Wildcats. Porcaro, a transfer from Bishop Fenwick and a superb basketball player, had the two clear-the-bases runs while Napoli, who was the Cape Ann League MVP, was 3 for 5 at the plate and played outstanding defense at shortstop.

“In my 29 years of coaching, she may be the best all-around player we’ve had,” said Walters, a longtime assistant to legendary coach Chris Perry.

For Whittier, Nicole Verrette showed why she was recently named the Commonwealth Conference MVP. While she did give up nine hits, she allowed only two earned runs while striking out 11. She also was 2 for 5 at the plate and scored a run.

Also with big days at the plate were the Beauchesne sisters, both of whom hit the ball hard every time up. Allison was 2 for 5 and Olivia was 2 for 3 and on base four times.

“Those were two equal teams in a great battle,” said Begin. “We’ll keep at it. Our goal is to make it to the (North) finals and beat St. Mary’s. Now we’ll look to do it next year.”

Amesbury 4, Whittier 3

Division 3 North Quarterfinals

Amesbury (4): DiPietro lf 5-1-1, M.Napoli ss 5-0-3, Baker c 5-1-1, Catania p 5-0-0, Burdick rf 4-0-1, M.Porcaro 1b 5-2-1, Dodier dp 3-0-0, Daileanes ph 1-0-0, A. Napoli cf 4-0-1, Aponas 2b 4-0-1, A.Porcaro 3b 0-0-0. Totals 41-4-9

Whittier (3): Thibault 3b 5-1-1, A.Beauchesne lf 5-0-2, J.Verrette 3-0-1, McGrath pr 0-0-0, Wilson 1b 4-0-0, Hobbs 2b 5-0-0, N.Verrette 5-0-2, Alestock pr 0-1-0, Campbell dp 4-1-1, O.Beauchesne cf 3-0-2, Greaney ss 4-0-1, Slocum rf 0-0-0. Totals 38-3-10

RBI: A — Porcaro, Burdick; W — Campbell, O.Beauchesne, A.Beauchesne

WP: Catania; LP: N.Verrette

Amesbury (17-6): 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 — 4

Whittier (19-3): 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3