20 - June 10, 2011
by Marc Ayotte The Campbell softball team started their post- season march to the final four on June 2, when they hosted 17th-seeded Prospect Mountain in a preliminary game match-up. It was the second time this year that the two teams had met at the Cougar field and the third time overall. In the previous two regular season meetings, Campbell emerged with easy 18-1 and 13-1 victories. Post-season would be no different for the visiting Timberwolves, as the Lady Cougars again showed no mercy as they blanked their opponents 11-0. Sharing the spoils of a no-hit offering for Campbell were Julia and Allie Nolan, who combined to shut down any chance of a Prospect Mountain upset bid. In going the first five innings, Julia fanned 10 T’wolves, with Allie striking out
Hudson~Litchfield Sports Hudson~Litchfield Sports
Lady Cougars Advance to D-3 Title Game, Julia Nolan Fires a ‘No-No’ and Records Season ‘K’ Number 200
five batters in her two innings of relief work. Julia Nolan records her 200th ‘K’ on the season on the way to shutting out Winnisquam in the state semifinals
Cougar battery mates Julia Nolan (#10) and catcher Brittany McNulla (#9) discuss strategy during final four action at PSU
Brittany McNulla shined defensively as she gunned down two would-be base stealers. The Cougar offense was led by Julie Anne Fernandez, who was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with two RBIs. Adding to her defensive presence, McNulla produced nicely with the bat by going 3-5 with a triple and one run driven in. Erin King chipped in, going 2-5 with an extra base hit. The first-round win set the stage for yet another Campbell vs. Conant showdown, as the two teams would now meet in the quarterfinals in Litchfield. On Saturday, June 4, the number nine-seeded Orioles flew in from Jaffrey, hoping to avenge a 1-0 loss they suffered to the Cougars earlier in the season on the same diamond. The details of the game were slightly different, but the end result was as excruciatingly painful as the first visit to Campbell for the visiting black and orange. Lady Cougar pitching phenom Julia Nolan came up with another ‘No-No,’ as she devastated the hopeful Conant squad by firing a complete-game, no-hit shutout while striking out an incredible 19 batters along the way. Her final Oriole strikeout victim was her 188th on the season and career ‘K’ number 569. The shutout lowered her ERA to a staggering and infinitesimal .652 on the season. The lone Campbell run was of the unearned variety off tough luck Conant starter Kelsey
Smith. After Sam Radcliffe had reached base on the Orioles’ only error of the game, senior Erin McLaughlin tripled home her teammate for what proved to be the game’s only run. Erin added to her offensive star of the game performance with a fourth inning single as well as what head coach Laurie Gatherum referred to as “a textbook sacrifice bunt” in the seventh inning. Julia Marra, Julia Nolan, and Erin King had the other single hits for Campbell. The win over Conant pleasantly necessitated Campbell Athletic Director ‘Coach K’ to make bus reservations for the Tuesday night trek north up Highway I-93 to Plymouth State University for the Division III girls’ final four. In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. In some countries, it is also called cowcatcher or cattle catcher. In New Hampshire Division III girls’ softball, the pilot can be personified by pitcher Julia Nolan and, subsequently, the Lady Cougars’ team metaphorically becomes the intimidating black-attired locomotive, steamrolling over every opponent they meet on the tracks. On Tuesday, June 7, Campbell High continued their dominance in division play by burying the Bears of Winnisquam High, 9-0, in semifinal action. The Lady Cougars will now face Somersworth High in the championship game on
AHS Softball Heads to Semifinals by Sue LaRoche In the Preliminary round of the NHIAA
Division I softball playoffs, the number two- seeded Lady Broncos easily handled the number 15-seeded Timberlane, 10-0. After five innings, the Broncos had a 10-run lead and held the Owls to only three hits and no runs on the day. Taylor Carbone stood out on the offensive and defensive end of play as she struck out 15 batters and allowed only three hits. Carbone tallied four RBIs on the afternoon, pacing the offense with two home runs and a single. Katie Donovan also had a solid all-around game, handling four chances at shortstop flawlessly and collecting three hits and two RBIs on the afternoon. Mikayla Powlowsky (two RBIs), Chelsey Drew, and Jenna Giannelli (two RBIs) had two hits each and Brooke Kennedy and Kaela Craven added one
hit apiece. With this victory, the Broncos moved to the quarterfinal round hosting number-10 seed Merrimack, who had knocked off the number seven-seed Pinkerton Academy in the preliminary round. On Saturday, June 4, the Broncos faced Merrimack and handled the Tomahawks with no problem as they handed them an 8-0 loss. The Broncos had a tough game against Merrimack earlier in the season, squeaking out a 7-6 victory in their first contest. But for the second time in three years, Alvirne will play in the semifinals of the tournament as they strive for their 19th victory of the season. Taylor Carbone again pitched a gem, striking out 13 and allowing just four hits in the contest. In two playoff games thus far, Carbone has 28 strikeouts, no walks, and no earned runs, and she continues to add to her total of 195 strikeouts for the season.
All but one Bronco had a safety on the day, with the
hit parade being led by Brooke Kennedy, who had three hits and one RBI, Mikayla Powlowsky with two hits and two RBIs, and Taylor Carbone with two hits and one RBI. Jenna Giannelli, Delaney Burns, Kaela Craven,
diving stop of a grounder headed into left field. On Thursday, the Broncos will have taken on the number-three seed Londonderry squad, in action that took place at Southern NH University. The Broncos lost to Londonderry 2-1 in the second game of the season.
Saturday, June 11, again at PSU. The Hilltoppers earned their spot in the finals with an extra-inning, 2-1 upset win over number-two seed Gilford High. Coach Gatherum had one worry as her team entered the semifinal game. She had concerns as to whether the team’s bats were going to make an appearance at the final four. They did. The Cougars used an evenly disbursed, 15-hit attack en route to scoring two runs in the first, two in the second, and four in the third to put the game out of reach of the heavily underdog Winnisquam nine. The Campbell squad has maintained an incredible level of excellence for an extraordinary length of time—the entire season. With each successive game, the offensive and defensive aspects of their game clearly show that they are women playing amongst girls. After losing in the semifinals last year against Sanborn, along with a loss in the finals two years ago against Franklin, Coach Gatherum and her softball disciples are
Lady Cougar Brittany McNulla has been solid defensively and at the plate in Campbell’s quest to be the best
on a mission. These are all indications that this determined group of young ladies will not rest until all the competition has fallen and another Campbell High championship banner is hoisted in the ‘Cougar Den’ rafters. First pitch is at 5 p.m.
8 THIN & TALL filler (self promo)
and Jess Underwood had one hit each. Burns also had a great defensive play in the seventh inning, with a
Alvirne finished with a record of 16-3, while the Lancers finished 15-4. With a victory over Londonderry, the girls will play on Saturday, June 11, at 4:30 p.m. in the finals at Southern NH University against the winner of the Bishop Guertin/Concord game.
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