Doherty’s RBI single sends Saugus softball past Beverly

Coming into Wednesday’s game against Beverly, Saugus centerfielder Jackie Doherty had only six hits in her team’s 13 previous games.Talk about the right time to come out of a slump.Doherty singled to right field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to score Gina Reppucci with the winning run in a 2-1 walkoff win against a Beverly club that was 10-2 coming in. It was Doherty’s second hit of the game.”Jackie is such a good athlete, and when she hits it, it can go a long way,” Saugus coach Bobbie Finocchio said. “And she came up with some big hits for us.”With the Sachems coming in at 3-9 and their state tournament hopes nearly on life support, Beverly coach Meghan Sudak knew her team was going to get everything it could handle from Saugus. And she was right.”Saugus is a good team,” Sudak said. “And they played a great game.”Saugus pitcher Nicole Lowe held Beverly to six hits and one earned run in seven innings. Beverly’s Sarah Pezzulo was Lowe’s equal over the first six innings, allowing three hits with six strikeouts and one earned run.The Sachems got the scoring started in the bottom of the second when Reppucci led off with a walk. Kelsey Sturgis followed with a shot to left field that eluded the grasp of Kellie Shea, scoring Reppucci for a 1-0 lead.Lowe, meanwhile, kept the Panthers at bay in the early going. Shea was the only Panther to reach base over the first four innings when she led off the second with a single.After retiring nine in a row in the second through fourth innings, Lowe surrendered a leadoff single to Kiki McKenna in the fifth. Courtney Brennan followed with a shot up the middle that Lowe knocked down but had no play on.Pinch hitter Allie Murray followed with a chopper to Lauren Garchinsky at third. The senior went to third to get the lead runner, but McKenna slid in just ahead of the throw to load the bases.Monica Cassola then hit a grounder to first, but the throw home to get McKenna was dropped, allowing the tying run to score. Then the defense saved the day.Ashley Chalifour hit a rocket to second that was snared by Allie Cooper, who flipped to shortstop Rachel Forgione at second to complete the double play.Lowe got Brenna Bailey to ground out to third to end the inning.”That was tough, only getting one there,” Sudak said. “We like to be aggressive on the bases, and that double play is something I can accept because were trying to score that runner from second.”Beverly threatened to take the lead in the seventh when Murray reached on an infield single with one out. But she was thrown out trying to swipe second.In the bottom of the inning, Kristen Lojko replaced Pezzulo on the mound for Beverly, and she walked Reppucci to begin things. Sturgis followed with an infield single and the runners were sacrificed into scoring position by Christine Canada.After Forgione walked on four pitches to load the bases, Doherty ripped a shot over Bailey’s head in right to end the game.”It was the middle of the order that got it done for us there,” Finocchio said. “We don’t have any room left for losses if we want to make the tournament.”