Danvers softball faces Lexington in D1 North final

No matter what happens in the Div. 1 North final tonight (6) at Martin Field in Lowell, the Danvers High softball team has already made history.The top-seeded Falcons (23-0) won the Northeastern Conference title, and have advanced beyond the second round of the state tournament for the first time since 1991.For all its accomplishments, Danvers earns a date with 2nd-seeded Lexington (21-3), the defending state champion, and star pitcher Kiki Saveriano.”They’re certainly a great team and they have a great pitcher,” Danvers coach Tara Petrocelli said.If Saveriano, bound for the University of Connecticut, was good in the tournament last year, she’s been sublime this season. She opened the postseason with 17 strikeouts and a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over Reading, and threw a 2-hitter with 14 whiffs in a 2-1 win over Newton North in the semifinals.Lexington’s big scare was in the quarterfinals against Chelmsford. Saveriano cruised through the first five innings with a no-hitter, but was touched up for three runs on two walks and two hits in the sixth. The Minutemen held on for a 4-3 win.Danvers pitcher Diana Bean hasn’t been as spectacular as Saveriano, but she’s been just as dominant, allowing just three runs in the tournament so far. Bean, who will attend Plymouth (N.H.) State in the fall, opened with a two-hit shutout of Everett in the Falcons’ 5-0 win. She also limited Lincoln-Sudbury to two hits in a 6-1 victory in the second round, then outdueled Woburn’s Kryssie Cudmore (who no-hit Lynn Classical in the first round) in a 4-2 win in the semifinals.Bean allowed six hits and fanned two batters to pick up the 63rd win of her career at Danvers High.If common opponents are a factor, Lexington defeated Woburn twice, 1-0 and 3-1, during the regular season. Lexington’s only losses this season were both 1-0 defeats to Concord-Carlisle, a Div. 2 North finalist, and Stoneham, which also qualified for the tournament.If there’s pressure on Lexington to repeat as state champion, there may also be some heat on the Falcons, who are unbeaten and the top seed in Div. 1 North.Petrocelli said success hasn’t changed her team much, however.”We enjoyed the win (over Woburn), but the players knew they had to get right back to work the next day,” she said. “It’s my job to keep them away from pressure. I have to make sure they stay focused on playing seven innings and getting 21 outs.”Mostly, the kids have been having a blast,” added Petrocelli. “They don’t worry about unbeaten seasons or history or the big picture. They’ll have enough time for that later, but right now all they’re thinking about is the next game.”Catcher Jill Carroll led the way in the Everett game with an RBI triple. First baseman Alicia Dean also had a triple in the Woburn game, and left fielder Hannah Demirdogen added a double.Centerfielder Justine Pratt has led a solid defensive crew that has turned 23 double plays and a triple play.