A lot went missing after last season for the Pembroke Academy softball team. The Spartans reached the 2015 semifinals, but coming into this year they had to replace graduated six seniors and the head coach from that group.
“Honestly, I thought it was going to be a rebuilding year,” said Ashley Gladu, the 22-year-old who took over as PA’s head coach after one year as an assistant. “But Lexi (Palmisano, Pembroke’s star pitcher) and the other seniors have really stepped up this year and I’m with the way things have turned out.”
The way things have turned out, so far, for the Spartans is an 11-6 record after Monday’s 5-0 win against John Stark (5-9) in the regular-season finale.
Palmisano spun the shutout, striking out three and giving up four hits and no walks over seven innings of work.
“Lexi definitely had her ball moving today,” Gladu said. “She pitched really well.”
The Spartans staked their ace to a quick lead with two runs in the first inning. Brianna Whitcomb, who was 2-for-3 on Monday and one of those seniors who has really raised her game this season, drove in both runs, plating Olivia Langevin (1-for-1, two runs, two walks) and Stephanie Berube (2-for-3).
Pembroke made it 3-0 in the third when Langevin scored again, this time on a hit from Berube. The Spartans pushed it to 5-0 in the fourth. Palmisano plated Rachel Stotlar with a single and on the play Danielle Parent got in a rundown between home and third and managed to score.
The Spartans will now wait for the D-II tournament pairings to come out to see who they will face in the first round on June 1.
“I’ve talked to them a little bit about what it takes to win in the playoffs, about being determined and that we’re a good softball team and we can compete with anybody, but at the same time Division II is very, very tough and on any given day anybody can beat anybody and they know that,” Gladu said.
“So we talked about bringing their ‘A’ game and needing to play error-free softball. And they know that their season can come to an end at any time now and it’s tough to realize that, especially for the seniors … I think we peaked earlier in the season, that’s when we were playing our best softball, but we’re still competing, and we’ll come around in the playoffs, that’s for sure.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341, tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @tosullivan20)
From coaches’ reports
Softball
Raymond 8, Bishop Brady 5
Key players: Bishop Brady – Lily Rivera (4 IP, 1 ER, 3 K; 4-for-4, triple, 3 runs), Aniecia Vargas (single, double, triple, RBI, run), Abby Sanits (single, 2 RBI, run), Jamie Cookingham (triple, RBI), Cait Mallahan (triple)
Highlights/key moments: Raymond scored three runs in the first, two in the second and two in the fourth, adding an insurance run in the sixth. Brady scored in the third, sixth and seventh but couldn’t get close enough.
Coach’s quote: “We hit the ball hard tonight. Lily, Anievia, Jamie and Cait all pounded the ball all over the field tonight, but we left too many players in scoring position. We had quite a few hard-hit balls that were loud outs. It was still a special night for our sole senior captain, Becca Olson.” – Bishop Brady’s Freddy Rivera
Records: Bishop Brady 9-5; Raymond 7-9
Franklin 8, Prospect Mountain 0
Key players: Franklin – Kaylee Marshe (15 K, 0 ER), Rachael Capri (2 hits), Hailey Haskins (2 hits), Anna Doherty (2 hits), Mariah Haney (2 hits), Anna Sylvestre (2 hits), Hanne Nichols (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: Franklin’s big inning came in the sixth while leading 3-0. Haskins and Haney reached on errors and three consecutive hits helped Franklin build an 8-0 lead.
Coach’s quote: “(Prospect Mountain pitcher) Burley is certainly one of the top pitchers in Division III, but today we seemed to see the ball well and made great contact. Eight different players had hits and six had two hits each.” – Franklin’s Skip DuBois
Records: Franklin 13-1; Prospect Mountain 13-2
Hopkinton 23, Hillsboro-Deering 3
Key players: Hopkinton – Gabby Lajeunesse (5 IP, 2 ER, 1 hit, 3 K), Sam Brewer (2 hits, 3 runs), Krista Amoth (hit, 3 runs), Kasey Smith (5 runs)
Highlights/key moments: Lajeunesse pitched her first career varsity game, striking out three and earning the win. The Hawks broke the game open with an eight-run third and a 12-run fourth inning.
Coach’s quote: “Great outing by Gabby today and nice to score some runs to help her out.” – Hopkinton’s Dan Meserve
Records: Hopkinton 8-6; H-D 1-13
Baseball
John Stark 5, Pembroke 0
Key players: John Stark – Callahan Loos (complete game, 4-hit shutout, 7 K; 2 hits, 2 runs), Egan Nickerson (2 hits, 2 RBI, steal), Aaron Robertson (hit, RBI, walk)
Highlights/key moments: Stark finally struck in the third inning with three runs, highlighted by singles from Nickerson and Robertson. Nickerson added a second RBI single in the Generals’ two-run fifth inning.
Coach’s quote: “Cal pitched very well today for us. This was his first shutout of his career, so we let him go a little longer than usual today. Our defense was also very solid, not making any errors today, including solid defense up the middle from Nickerson, Moses Greene and Leif Mailloux. Our bats came back a little tonight, and we got some very clutch hits. I thought (James) Fisher threw the ball well for PA today.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 11-3; Pembroke 2-14
Coe-Brown 6, Plymouth 4
Key players: Coe-Brown – Brody Ashley (home run, single, 2 RBI), Andrew Therrien (home run), Jacob Rich (sac fly), Jayson Cleveland (4 IP, 1 hit, 2 K, win)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears trailed 4-1 in the third until Ashley and Therrien connected on back-to-back solo home runs. Cleveland entered the game in the fourth, setting the tone by allowing only one hit for the remainder of the contest. Coe-Brown scored three in the fourth to take the lead for good.
Coach’s quote: “We started a little wild, I had to make a pitching change in the third, but Jayson really settled down. The home runs were exciting for us, it’s hard to hit home runs at our field, but it was just one of those days.” – Coe-Brown’s Sean Ashley
Records: Coe-Brown 11-5; Plymouth 4-10
Bishop Brady 7, Raymond 5
Key players: Bishop Brady – Tom Blandini (7 IP, 11 K; 2 hits, 2 runs), JP Nemcovich (2 hits, RBI, run), Rheo Partington (triple)
Highlights/key moments: Brady scored in the first when Nemcovich singled in Blandini. Brady took a 7-0 lead after three runs in the third and fifth innings, but Raymond made a furious rally in the seventh inning. Blandini stranded runners at second and third, striking out the last two batters.
Coach’s quote: “When we built a 7-0 lead going to the top of the seventh with Tommy pitching a shutout, it looked like we were going to win going away, but that’s baseball. It isn’t over until you get that last out. Tommy was tiring a little bit and we made an error behind him, but he gutted it out, that is the type of player he is. Give Raymond credit, they wouldn’t quit.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Bishop Brady 9-5; Raymond 8-8
Pelham 8, Bow 7, 10 inn.
Key players: Bow – Jeff Bell (6.2 IP, 8 K; 1 hit), Jack Corriveau (2 hits), Connor Lorenz (2 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Bow took a 4-0 lead, but in the third Pelham used a three-run homer to tie the game after getting its first run of the game. The teams traded runs to into extras tied at 6-6, which included Bow getting out of a bases-loaded jam after giving up the tying run in the bottom of the seventh. In the 10th inning, Pelham scored to tie the game at seven, but Bow was able to throw out a runner at the plate for the second out. With runners on the corners, Bow intentionally walked Pelham’s cleanup hitter, who homered and hit a double earlier. The next batter was hit by a pitch, bringing in the winning run.
Coach’s quote: “Tough game to lose, it was a real scrappy game all around. We did what we needed to do early on, just couldn’t finish.” – Bow assistant coach Dennis Ordway
Records: Bow 10-4; Pelham 5-10
Franklin 2, Prospect Mountain 0
Key players: Franklin – Garrett Fleming (7 IP, 14 K; hit, run), Max Joyce (2 hits, run)
Highlights/key moments: In the second inning, with Fleming on third and Joyce at first, Joyce stole second. With the throw going to second, Fleming was able to go home and score the first run of the game – and the only one the Golden Tornadoes needed.
Coach’s quote: “Garrett came up huge for us today and pitched a gem. He was dominant on the mound and just did his thing. Our defense made some nice plays behind him and we just totally shut down a very good club.” – Franklin’s Dave Joyce
Records: Franklin 8-6; Prospect Mountain 7-8
Hopkinton 12, H-D 1, 5 inn.
Key players: Hopkinton – Josh Angel (3 IP, 2 hits, 5 K; 2 hits, 4 RBI, 2 runs), Alex Lajeunesse (1 IP, 4 K; 3 hits, 3 RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Leading 3-0 in the the third, Lajeunesse doubled to lead off and Hopkinton was able to load the bases. Angel cleared the bags with a double, pacing the Hawks offense and getting his fourth RBI of the day. Lajeunesse closed the game, striking out four of the five batters he faced.
Coach’s quote: “I’m pleased with the way we came out with our bats, it’s something we’ve been working on. We’re truly starting to turn it around and this was our first errorless game.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton – 7-8; H-D 0-14
Pembroke 13, Spaulding 6
Key players: Pembroke – Glenn Dion (4 goals, 2 assists), Kam Anderson (3 goals), Pat Berry (goal, assist), Logan Young (2 assists), Drew Berry (goal), Josh Dion (goal), Ryan Phelps (strong defense)
Highlights/key moments: A string of man-up goals gave Pembroke the cushion it needed to win its second game in a row.
Coach’s quote: “We didn’t get the start we wanted, but we stuck together and stayed disciplined. We put ourselves in good spots and strung some goals together. Good team win.” – Pembroke’s Time Vasconcellos
Records: Pembroke 5-7; Spaulding 1-12
Bedford 18, Concord 4
Key players: Concord – Steph Resnick (4 goals), Christina Soule (assist)
Coach’s quote: “We are looking to each other to transition as a team and that is really helping our game. It was a tough game for us, we had some good transitions and had good communication but that was not enough to secure the win.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Concord 5-10; Bedford 14-1
Kearsarge 19, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: Kearsarge – Eleanor Angus (6 goals, 4 assists), Anna Stowell (5 goals, 4 assists), Leslie Angus (2 goals, assist), Vica Henskens (2 goals, assists), Maicy Hansen (goal, 2 assists), Kaileigh Davis (goal, assist), Lily Hutoon (goal), Brianna Sullivan (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Angus’s 10-point game led the Cougars to an easy win.
Records: Kearsarge 12-2; Brady 3-10