Captain Ravenne Nasser ’15 fired a drop curve over the outside corner of the plate to strike out her Phillips Exeter Academy opponent and secure the third out in the top of the fifth inning during Andover Softball’s game on Wednesday. Andover went on to win the game 10-0 by the mercy rule and upped its record to an undefeated 6-0.
Nasser pitched a no-hitter in the win and was supported by a defense that did not allow an Exeter base runner to advance past second base.
Leadoff batter and third baseman Victoria Bergeron ’16 started Andover’s offensive splurge in the first inning with a double to right center field. The team continued to build offensive momentum and batted through its entire lineup to earn a 6-0 lead.
The rest of Andover’s runs came from hits and walks. Maddie Comer ’16 blasted a line drive up the middle to drive in two runs in the bottom of the fifth and bring the score to 9-0. Andover’s final run came off a walk.
“We were really patient up at bat and drew a lot of walks because their pitcher was kind of wild, which helped to get runners on base,” said Nasser.
Courtney Erickson ’15 said, “We had a great pitching performance by [Nasser] and great defense to back her up. Our offense was strong as well. Everyone in the order did their job at the plate.”
Andover had great success this weekend in its doubleheader against BB&N and Tabor as it emerged with two wins.
In its game against BB&N, the scoreboard remained at 0-0 until the bottom of the third inning when first baseman Sidney Holder ’17 batted in a run to give Andover a 1-0 lead. BB&N promptly responded in the top of the fourth inning with a run to tie the score at 1-1.
Andover’s offense struggled in the start of the game, as its power-hitters were challenged by the strong BB&N outfield.
Antonia Tammaro ’17, who had one R.B.I. in the game, said, “BB&N’s outfielders played really far back and robbed us of a lot hits.”
In the fifth inning, Andover pulled away with hits from Kristina Haghdan ’17, Bergeron, Holder, Erickson and Nasser.
Tamarro, Colby Beré ’18 and Co-Captain Mackenzie Bradford ’15 walked to get on base and push runners home. The final score of the game was 5-2 in Andover’s favor. Nasser pitched the game and earned the win.
In its second game on Saturday, Andover beat Tabor 18-0. Haghdan pitched the entire game, allowing zero runs and striking out seven batters.
Andover had an extremely impressive offensive performance from all members of the team. The team scored ten runs in the bottom of the first inning with grand slams from Bradford and Erickson, as well as aggressive baserunning and solid base hits.
By the end of the second inning, Andover held a remarkable 15-0 lead.
Co-Captain Jen Kaplan ’15 said, “We were hitting extremely well. We stayed back and drove the ball.”
Erickson had a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, which brought the score to 18-0 and sealed Andover’s victory by the run rule.
Kaplan said, “Blow out games like this definitely aren’t fun, but I think we did a good job of knowing when to celebrate and when not to.”
Andover will use its six game winning streak as momentum when it faces a strong Worcester Academy team on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Victoria Bergeron ’16 is a Sports Editor for The Phillipian.
