Lexington lowers the boom on St. Mary’s

Each winter for the past six, fans of St. Mary’s athletics have watched Frank Pagliuca mold the girls hockey program into the state’s best, winning three straight state titles (2008-2010) while amassing an all-time state record 100-game unbeaten streak spanning four seasons.Saturday afternoon, however, Pagliuca was on the opposing bench at Breed Middle School as his Lexington High softball team halted the season-opening seven-game unbeaten streak of a St. Mary’s club that includes a number of his hockey players, 9-2. The youthful Patriots (5-3), with nary a senior on their 12-player roster, broke open a tight game with a five-run sixth-inning outburst.”The score truly doesn’t indicate the type of game it was. It was much closer than the final indicates. St. Mary’s had some chances early where one hit could’ve made this a completely different game,” said Pagliuca, who guided Lexington to consecutive Division 1 state titles in 2008-09.Lexington got off the bus swinging and mashed a season-high 16 hits. Batting first, third and fifth respectively, Katy Delgreco (3-for-3, triple, RBI), Danielle Delgreco (4-for-4, double, 3 RBI) and Christine Barons (4-for-4, RBI) were a perfect 11-for-11 against St. Mary’s pitchers Brooke L’Abbe and Brianna Holmes, who worked the seventh inning.Lexington nicked L’Abbe for single runs in the first and third innings but the Spartans (7-1) responded in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded and one out, L’Abbe lashed a two-run single to tie it. Lexington freshman Erin Hanson, returning from an injury to make her varsity debut, relieved Danielle Delgreco at that point and shut down the Spartans the rest of the way.”We had our best hitting day and I thought our pitchers did a great job. Defensively, St. Mary’s put the ball in play and put pressure on us but we responded,” said Pagliuca, whose club made a couple of inconsequential errors.Lexington regained the lead for good with a single run in the fourth, added another in the fifth, then broke it open in the sixth. L’Abbe worked six innings for St. Mary’s, striking out two. Holmes mopped up in the seventh, recording one strikeout.St. Mary’s mustered six hits in defeat, including two each by a pair of Pagliuca’s hockey players, center fielder Sabrina Iannetti and shortstop Angela Dandreo. L’Abbe contributed the two-run single and Mia Murray also had a single.”It was great to see those kids and know that they’re contributing in softball the same way they did in hockey,” Pagliuca said.St. Mary’s returns to action this afternoon, facing Bishop Fenwick in Peabody (3:30 p.m.).