Tristin Moone ’10 pitched a tremendous, complete game shutout on Monday, leading girls softball to a 10-0 victory over Noble High School. She struck out 14 batters and did not let a Noble High runner come close to scoring. “Tristin [Moone] is just an amazing player all around, and her pitching has it all – speed, accuracy, and movement,” said Sonya Schoenberger ’11. “She’s so good that she intimidates the other team with her talent and presence on the mound.” The game started off slowly for the Andover offense, and the score remained close through two innings. The team’s offense quickly broke the game open in the third inning, scoring enough runs to get a comfortable lead. “The bottom of the lineup first got us going, and that’s always a great morale booster for everyone,” said Kristin Mendez ’13. Andover scored more runs after the third inning, many of which were scored by substitutes taking advantage of the big lead. “The bottom of the order stepped up and got a few rallies going on Monday, which is very encouraging. Our lineup goes deep this year and we look forward to taking advantage of that,” said Garbarino. Moone was the highlight of the game, pitching all seven innings and letting up almost zero hits. Moone has been consistently spectacular so far this year, and this performance was very similar to her appearances in the scrimmages last week. “[Moone] is a very smart pitcher, and [Co-Captain] Sarah Onorato ‘10 is just as smart of a catcher,” said Captain Alayna Garbarino ’10. “They converse between innings to discuss each batter from the previous inning and decide how to pitch to them in their next plate appearance.” “With the two of them working together and some great help from the fielders, we have not let many players reach base so far. We are hoping to keep up this great defense throughout the entire year against stronger teams,” she coninued. “[Moone] pitches faster than a lot of the other players in the league, but what really sets her apart is the movement on her pitches,” said Mendez. “She has a ridiculous change-up that makes a joke out of even the best hitters, and her screw balls and rise balls move a ton.” Still in the beginning of the year, the team has just a few tweaks to make in order to beat some stronger teams later in the season. “We learned some specifics to focus on, such as smarter base running, but it is still early in the season and I am confident we will work out any issues soon,” said Garbarino. Andover hopes to carry its momentum forward to its two games this weekend. On Friday it will play Middlesex School, who is also 1-0, at home. On Saturday it will travel to play a doubleheader against Choate, who is 6-0. Moone and the rest of the team’s strong offense will be able to give the team a good chance to win, but all three games should be very close.
