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LOWELL | When you go deeper into the state tournament and the margin of error shrinks, it's the little things that count.

The St. Mary's of Lynn softball team was more effective than Ipswich High in executing the little things yesterday and the result was a 1-0 Spartans win in the Division 3 North semifinals at Martin Field.

IPSWICH -- Nobody can predict how far the Ipswich High softball team will go in the Division 3 North Tournament this season. But no matter how far the Tigers go, yesterday's instant classic against Winthrop is the game they'll be talking about many years from now.

Fans attending the Courtney Corning Memorial Softball Tournament tomorrow and Sunday at Endicott College in Beverly will probably see Ipswich High's Krista MacKenzie bunt and steal bases.

If they stick around long enough, they may also witness MacKenzie ripping line drives in the gap and legging out doubles and triples.

The preseason talk in Cape Ann League softball might have been about Amesbury, North Andover and North Reading. But Ipswich High showed it could match up against the traditional powers and then some.

AMESBURY | It was the showdown both teams had marked on their respective calendars all season long.

When the game finally came to fruition yesterday, the Chris Perry-driven Amesbury Indians, led by the pitcher-catcher tandem of captains Jordan Oliva and Kate Hathaway, sat tied with North Andover atop the Cape Ann League Division 1 standings.

Junior Kerry Desmond gave herself all the runs she needed with a double, a triple and two RBI, as she threw a shutout on the mound with nine strikeouts and blanked Rockport 12-0. Krista MacKenzie had three hits and Courtney Rosales had three hits, including two doubles, as the Tigers (11-1) totaled 18 hits as a team.

If Kerry Desmond had done nothing more than stay in moderately decent shape in the offseason, she would've been a formidable pitcher in the Cape Ann League this season.

Ipswich High's junior ace already has two years of varsity experience under her belt. Coming off a 15-5 season, the hard-throwing Desmond could rely on her savvy and confidence to become a league all-star again.

Junior ace Kerry Desmond notched her fifth win on the mound and went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Krista McKenzie went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Emily Bouvier was 3 for 3 with three RBIs. The Tigers (5-1) pounded out 19 hits and led 11-0 after three innings.

Ipswich's junior ace Kerry Desmond might tell you she didn't have her best stuff since she issues five walks in a 9-0 win over Manchester Essex. But that would be mostly modesty talking.

Desmond tossed the first no-hitter of her career, fanning 11 Hornets en route to the historic ending.

Ipswich's junior ace Kerry Desmond might tell you she didn't have her best stuff since she issues five walks in a 9-0 win over Manchester Essex. But that would be mostly modesty talking.

Desmond tossed the first no-hitter of her illustrious career, fanning 11 Hornets en route to the historic ending.