St. Mary’s softball eliminated by Austin Prep

It was an inauspicious end to a very good season for the No. 3 St. Mary?s softball team, falling, 3-0, to No. 7 Austin Prep in the Division 3 North semifinals at Martin Field in Lowell on Wednesday.
In two meetings against Austin Prep during the regular season, the Spartans came away victorious both times. But a third win was not to be.
Austin Prep advances to Sunday?s title game against top-seeded Amesbury.
?We knew that it was going to be a battle because we had two tough games against them during the season,” St. Mary?s coach Colleen Newbury said. “Give them credit, they played well and made the plays.”
The St. Mary?s (18-5) offense struggled to find a foothold as it managed just four hits in the game. Katie Terban had two, while Cassandra LaFauci and Katarina Roy each had one.
The Cougars (17-5) scored a run in the fifth inning and tacked on two more in the sixth to put the game away against St. Mary?s, the defending North champions.
The loss ends a stellar career for St. Mary?s senior class ? Jessica Martiniello, Roy, LaFauci, Molly Doyle and Mollie Mello. That group reached the North final three times in all, winning titles in 2013 and last season after losing to Matignon in the 2012 title game. In all, the Spartan seniors won 72 games.?Our seniors certainly have had a lot of success. And they showed great leadership this season,” Newbury said. “We definitely had a good year. It?s tough to lose how we did (Wednesday). But the kids played well for most of the season and they were a great group that worked hard every day they came to the field.”