Danvers softball falls to Lexington in D1 North final

LOWELL – If the Danvers High softball team was intimidated by going up against Lexington, the defending Division 1 state champ, and one of the top pitchers in the state, it sure didn’t show in Monday’s North final at Martin Field in Lowell.Perhaps there’s a certain confidence that comes with bringing a 23-0 record to the party, but the Falcons looked like a team that knew it belonged there. Although the Northeastern Conference South champs lost, 5-3, they didn’t go quietly. If it wasn’t for the Zahka sisters and Lexington flame-thrower Kiki Saveriano, the Falcons would be booking the bus for a trip to the state finals in Taunton on Wednesday.After spotting Lexington two runs in the top of the third inning (thanks to a two-run single to centerfield by junior catcher Alyssa Zahka), Danvers staged a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead.It was the top of the order doing the damage. Leadoff hitter Joanna Zecha got things going with a walk. She took second on a passed ball and scored on Gabriella Vega’s single to right field. Alicia Dean followed with a single, setting the stage for Jillian Carroll, who singled to right to bring in Vega with the tying run. When the first baseman opted to try to nail Carroll at second base, Dean scampered home before the out was made at second, giving Danvers a 3-2 lead.Lexington got a run back in the top of the fifth when Saveriano (2 hits) singled up the middle and her pinch runner, Jackie Oram, scored on a Katy DelGreco single to center. Lexington took the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning, and this time it was older sister Joelle Zahka causing all the pain. Zahka hit a bomb that went to the centerfield fence, scoring Sara Heingartner, who had reached on a bunt single, and Saveriano’s pinch runner, Oram. Saveriano had reached on a fielder’s choice.Danvers got two more chances to get to Saveriano, but she shut the door on the Falcons in the sixth and seventh innings.”I would rather they beat us with the long ball than beat us with a bleeder,” Danvers coach Tara Petrocelli said. “They beat us with the long ball and we’ll take that. I can’t say how proud I am of my team.”Saveriano was impressive, allowing five hits and striking out eight. When she struck out the side in the first inning, it looked like the Falcons might be in for a long afternoon. They adjusted, however, and made things interesting.”We haven’t seen speed like that,” Petrocelli said. “Kiki is going to UConn for a reason.”Petrocelli said she knew it would take a bit to catch up with Saveriano, but her team made adjustments and had runners on base in four of the seven innings.”We put three runs across,” Petrocelli said. “We had baserunners. We played the game.”The Falcons finish the season with a 23-1 record.”It’s going to sting,’ Petrocelli said about the loss. “But if it doesn’t sting, we don’t belong here. Tomorrow will be better. We were playing the defending state champions. We shouldn’t be hanging our heads.”Lexington coach Frank Pagliuca – who also coached the St. Mary’s girls hockey team to a state title this winter – said his team had some juice in the top of the lineup and that made the difference. No. 2 hitter Heingartner had a pair of hits and scored two runs. Saveriano had two hits and her pinch runner scored three runs. Cleanup hitter Joelle Zahka had a single, double, walk and two RBI and Alyssa Zahka, hitting in the five spot, had a two-run double. Pagliuca said his team didn’t panic when it found itself trailing, 3-2, after three innings.”They focused on what we needed to do to get back into the game,” he said, adding that Saveriano started mixing her pitches up a bit down the stretch, throwing a couple of nice changeups that got the job done.Danvers pitcher Diana Bean scattered 12 hits and struck out five. She only walked one batter.Lexington will play Braintree Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Division 1 state semifinals at Taunton.