PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Mia Nowicki pitched a no-hitter and struck out 16 Saturday in St. Mary’s win over Shawsheen
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN –– Sometimes, you have to remind yourself to not take St. Mary’s ace Mia Nowicki for granted, says Spartans coach Paige Licata.
“You never want to take it for granted. I give her a shout out every game,” said Licata. “You don’t want to take it for granted, but on the other hand, she’s phenomenal.
“She’s moving the ball around, her location was on point.”
Nowicki held Shawsheen hitless and struck out 16 Rams as the Spartans began their 2017 playoff run with an 11-0 win in the Division 3 North first round Saturday at Grace Rogato Field.
The senior righthander was nearly untouchable. She allowed just two baserunners, as she walked the first batter of the game and another reached on an error in the seventh. But that’s what Nowicki has done all year for St. Mary’s, shut down the opposition.
The Rams didn’t make consistent contact until the seventh inning, the only frame in which they put the ball into play more than once. Nowicki struck out eight straight between the second and fourth, and struck out the side three times.
Coincidentally, Nowicki’s no-no came on the same day as Miami Marlins pitcher Edinson Volquez threw the first no-hitter of the MLB season.
One thing in particular that impressed Licata was Nowicki’s ability to make in-game adjustments.
“The umpire had a low strike zone, and she walked the first batter of the game throwing her riseball,” Licata said. “So I talked to her and said adjust and then she came back throwing low, low, low, hitting her spots. I thought that was impressive.”
Had it not been for the no-hitter, the story of Saturday’s game would have been St. Mary’s potent offense, led by Tori DiCenso, who cranked two home runs as part of a 3-for-4, 3-RBI day.
DiCenso hit her first, a solo shot, in the third to make it 3-0 for St. Mary’s. Her two-run shot in the sixth was almost identical to the first: A line drive shot that easily cleared the fence in left.
“I played in high school and college, and I’ve never seen anyone with that amount of power that comes so effortlessly when she connects,” Licata said. “The problem we’ve had all year is deciding what pitches to connect on. But she was laser-focused today. I told her only go for your zone, and she did that twice. When she is locked in on where she wants the ball to be, she finishes every time. How hard and how far she hits it is unbelievable.”
St. Mary’s scored two in the second as Emily Stephenson led off the inning with a double. Casey Fraher followed with a base hit, and Marina DiBiasio brought them both home with a hard single up the middle.
In the fourth, up 3-0, Nowicki helped her own cause with a RBI triple down the first base line, bringing in Jill Gentile, to push the lead to four.
DiBiasio drove in her third run of the game in the fifth inning, and scored later on a wild pitch. Christina Nowicki drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0 after five.
The Spartans brought home four more in the sixth: two on DiCenso’s home run, and two on a double from Gentile.
Next up for No. 3 St. Mary’s is No. 6 Lowell Catholic, which will visit Lynn today at 4.
