Softball: St. Mary’s impresses in At Bat for Buddy tournament

It was At Bat for Buddy time at Bishop Fenwick this weekend, and the hosts dropped two while the St. Mary’s softball team soared.In Saturday’s action, St. Mary’s won a tight one over Danvers, 1-0, while Winthrop edged Beverly by the same score, and Fenwick fell to Shawsheen, 8-7 in eight innings.Sunday, the Spartans defeated Fenwick, 7-3 in nine innings.In Saturday’s game, Brooke L’Abbe, Jordan D’Orsi and Mia Nowicki split the pitching. The game stayed scoreless until the top of the seventh, when Kaleigh Finigan was hit by a pitch, Cassandra LaFauci sacrificed her to second, and Tatiana Doucette and D’Orsi hit back-to-back singles.Nowicki slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on and one out, striking out the last two batters.The Vikings got seven innings of two-hit pitching from Maura Lanza in their win over Beverly. Winthrop’s only run came when Beverly tried to pick Michelle LaSala off third after she’d singled, taken second on Amanda Pelletier’s hit and stolen third.The Crusaders got a 3-for-4 performance by Gabby Hart, two RBI from Charlotte Powers and an RBI from Bridget Corcoran, who also scored two runs.Sunday, “it might have been the best game we’ve played all year,” said Fenwick coach Paul Lyman. “We just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it.”The star of the day was Finigan, who hit two homers, including one in the eighth inning that put the Spartans ahead, 3-2. But pinch-hitter Brianna Hemeon knocked in a run in the bottom of the eighth that re-tied the game at 3-3.The Spartans got some two-out magic in the ninth. Alison Butler doubled and Alexandra Fisher walked. Lyman intentionally walked Finigan to load the bases, and Molly Doyle beat out an infield hit to shortstop. L’Abbe then cleared the bases with a double.The Crusaders finished the weekend at 10-9 while St. Mary’s is 12-4.Marblehead 8, Everett 7At Everett, the Magicians (11-6) overcame a 6-0 deficit going into the top of the seventh.Centerfielder Rachel McKay led off with a walk, followed by an Alexa Brown single. Ally Kapoll walked and second baseman Emily Promise knocked two runs in with a single.Taylor Bouchard followed with a single, and Olivia Vener hit another one that knocked in Promise. McKay struck the big blow with a double, and first baseman Brown singled home McKay.Vener was 2-for-4. Pitcher Michaela Leblanc allowed eight hits and struck out six for her 11th win. She also got two hits.Brown went 2-4 as did left fielder Allison Kapoll.Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].