LOWELL — It wasn’t the most successful birthday she’s ever had, but St. Mary’s of Lynn senior third baseman Katie Terban of Georgetown will take it.
Coming into the tournament, Terban was hitting a robust .501 and one of the team’s top RBI hitter, In Saturday’s 5-2 Division 3 North semifinal victory over Whittier Tech, Terban was just 1 for 4 and didn’t drive in a run. But the Spartans still prevailed, 5-2, and that was the main thing.
“It was a good team win and we’re just happy to keep playing,” said Terban, a third baseman who is headed to St. Michael’s College in the fall. “That’s the third time we’ve played them in the tournament.”
And Terban has been a stalwart for the Spartans every time as has center fielder Francesca Simon, shortstop Vanessa VanBuskirk and starting pitcher Michaela Hamill, all seniors. They comprise the first four batters in the St. Mary’s batting order.
“All those kids played against us two years ago,” said Whittier coach Cheryl Begin. “They have so much experience and we’re so young.”
And yet the Wildcats (20-3) gave St. Mary’s all it could handle and was within a base hit of taking the lead until the Spartans added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh
Whittier freshman pitcher Nicole Verrette retired the first six batters she faced and nine of the first 10 but the only two walks she issued all day plus a pair of hits gave St. Mary’s a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth. It was a lead it would never relinquish.
But the Wildcats battled back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Jackie Verrette and Lena Faranna both had base hits and Kayle Hobbs drove them both in with a hard line drive single to center that got past the center fielder.
After that inning, junior Mia Nowicki came into the game in relief for Hamill and was nearly unhitable, striking out eight in three innings and allowing just two base runners.
But Whittier definitely made St. Mary’s work for the win and had several positives. Jackie Verrette and Hobbs both had a pair of hits and Kaley Thibault made several sound defensive plays at third base, recording all three outs in the sixth.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” said Begin. “They played hard and left it all out in the field.”
Despite the loss, the Wildcats’ season is not quite over. They’ll be playing in the Vocational State championship game at Greater New Bedford (21-4) on Monday,Tuesday or Wednesday. Greater New Bedford won the Division 3 South title.
St. Mary’s Lynn 5, Whittier 2
Division 3 North Semifinals
St. Mary’s (5): Simon cf 3-0-0, VanBuskirk ss 3-1-1, Terban 3b 4-0-1, Hamill p/rf 4-0-1, C.Nowicki rf/lf 2-1-0, Dicenso 1b 3-1-1, Smaller lf 3-0-2, M.Nowicki p 0-0-0, Stephenson c 3-0-1, Sullivan pr 0-1-0, Fraher 2b 3-1-2. Totals 28-5-9
Whittier (2): Thibault 3b 4-0-1, Boutin cf 3-0-0, Campbell dp 3-0-0, Ja.Verrette c 3-0-2, O.Beauchesne pr/ph 1-1-0, Wilson 1b 2-0-0, Faranna ss 3-1-1, Hobbs 2b 3-0-2, Slocum rf 3-0-0, N.Verrette p 2-0-0, A.Beauchesne lf 0-0-0. Totals 27-2-6
RBI: SM — Dicenso 2, Smaller, VanBuskirk, Hamill; W — Hobbs
WP: Hamill; LP: N.Verette
Whittier (20-3): 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 — 2
St. Mary’s Lynn (19-4): 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 — 5
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Softball, 06/11/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
HAVERHILL — Whittier has rode the success of its stellar underclassmen all season. But in Tuesday's playoff game against Mystic Valley, it was time for some senior leadership to rise.
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Softball, 06/07/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
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Softball, 06/04/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
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Softball, 04/27/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
