Captain Sarah Boylan ’09 and Sarah Onorato ’11 combined for 6 RBI’s in an Andover win over Tabor in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Andover also defeated Cushing in the day’s first game, romped New Hampton the previous Friday, and dominated over rival Exeter this Wednesday. Andover dominated Friday’s game from the start, as New Hampton’s starting pitcher left the game with an injury and the opposition had no quality relievers to replace her. Taking advantage of the inexperienced pitching, Andover scored 16 runs in just 5 innings. In the end, the game was shortened because of the mercy rule. On Saturday, Andover hosted three teams—Tabor, Cushing and Exeter—but only played Cushing and Tabor in its doubleheader. In the first game, Andover was able to defeat the previously unbeaten Cushing Purple Penguins, 8-3. Caroline Gattuso ’09 was on the mound and allowed only three unearned runs in seven innings of work. The offense was at her back, as seven different Andover hitters drove in runs. Shannon McSweeney ’11, Caroline Kauffman ’10 and Brianna McCarthy ’09 led the offense with two hits apiece. In the nightcap, Andover dug itself into an early hole by allowing three runs to cross the plate due to two errors. After four innings, the home team trailed by a score of 5-1. With the bases loaded in the following inning, however, Onorato hit a three run triple on an 0-2 count to bring Andover within one run. “She threw me a fastball middle out. I compacted my swing and drove it to the gap in right center,” said Onorato of the hit. Boylan then singled up the middle to tie the game at five, and Andover added four more runs to seal the 9-6 victory. Jackie Higgins ’11 started for the home team and went the first four innings while keeping Andover in contention for the win. On Wednesday, Andover played at home against Exeter. The offense was able to push across five runs by getting timely hits and running the bases aggressively. In the first three innings, both teams were held scoreless, but Andover’s bats awoke when McCarthy got Andover’s first hit. The timely hits included an Alayna Garbarino ’10 RBI double and a Riley Gardner ’10 RBI single. Andover also scored another run when Gardner was safe at home on a first and third double steal. The five runs were more than enough as Higgins threw her first career complete game while striking out six. Higgins allowed only one Exeter run, as Andover won 5-1. With the 4-0 week, Andover improved its record to 7-1 on the season.
