Alvirne needs extra innings to beat Londonderry, reach D1 softball final
MANCHESTER – The third time was a charm for Katie Donovan and the Alvirne High School softball team.
MANCHESTER – The third time was a charm for Katie Donovan and the Alvirne High School softball team.
The Broncos senior came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning with runners on first and third, and Alvirne tied 2-2 with Londonderry in Friday’s Division I semifinal at Southern New Hampshire University.
Donovan had been in similar situations before, early this school year as a member of the Alvirne volleyball and girls basketball teams. Both had their season ended by Londonderry in the semifinals, and Donovan didn’t want it to be three-for-three.
“I just wanted to get the ball in play,” she said, “hit something to right field that could score a run.”
Instead, she hit a grounder to Londonderry Lindsey Bolduc. Alvirne’s Jenna Giannelli left third on contact and beat Bolduc’s throw home, giving the Broncos a 3-2 win. The No. 2 Broncos will now face No. 4 Concord in the final Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at SNHU.
Taylor Carbone pitched all 10 innings for Alvirne (18-3), facing 45 batters while allowing 12 hits and walking two with just three strikeouts. Not exactly her typical line.
“She can’t do it all every time,” Alvirne coach Denise Rioux said. “Give Londonderry credit, they hit the ball well against her. We’ve had the defense all season and we really played it today. This proves we have a great team around her.”
Londonderry (16-5) left 13 runners on base, eight of which were in scoring position. Despite that, the Lancers were six outs away from making it to their second straight championship game.
Alvirne led 1-0 in the top of the sixth when Kelly Hunt, Londonderry’s No. 9 hitter, hit a fly ball to left field that just made it over the fence near the foul pole. The hit ignited the Lancers, and Bolduc followed with a double to center that just dropped in in front of a sliding Mikayla Powlowsky.
Abigail Lang singled between first and second, scoring Bolduc to give Londonderry a 2-1 lead, and Samantha Nisto followed with a single to put two runners on. But Carbone battled back and got Nicole Williams to pop up to end the inning.
“She’s tough, she knows what she’s doing,” Rioux said of Carbone. “That’s the way the game went last time. We had a 1-0 lead in the seventh and they score two. I told the kids, this is why we try to get the highest seed possible, so we can be the home team in a big game. We had the last-up and we took advantage.”
Powlowsky drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, and when Brooke Kennedy came up, Londonderry pinched in at the corners, waiting for the bunt.
“I thought that they figured we were going to bunt, so I took the bunt sign off and told her to hit away,” Rioux said. “She just hit it to the pitcher and she may have been a little rattled. We put the ball in play.”
Kennedy hit the ball hard back to Londonderry’s pitcher Sam Corey, catching her by surprise. Corey bobbled the ball and rushed the throw to first, pulling first baseman Daniele Crutcher off the base and into Kennedy. Powlowsky came around second and beat the throw home to tie the game.
After Alvirne put just one runner on in the next two innings, the Broncos took the game in the 10th. They’ll play in the final for the first time since 2004 and will be looking for their first title.
“That would be outstanding,” Donovan said of getting to win a title. “I played three sports in high school and haven’t. It’d be nice to top it off with a championship. We’ll be ready.”
